Wink
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Extended tag from "Promises to Keep" and later episodes. Story begins with what happened after Lee winked at Amanda and Francine getting a surprise when paying another visit to the vault. Told from Francine's PoV.
1. Promises to Keep

Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. We retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. this story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I have had to do some minor editing to this as I remember after the fact that I had forgotten to include a disclaimer and I noticed some typos and grammatical errors that I had overlooked during my initial editing process. I also had am adding a few more little tidbits of Francine's thoughts and a little added dialogue that occurred to me after publication. Due to the very positive reviews I have received on this, I am now also thinking of adding additional chapters, also from Francine's PoV, using info from later episodes as Lee and Amanda get closer to their wedding date and beyond.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine was in the vault putting away the files she had removed a few days before when she had caught Lee and Amanda in a clinch. She couldn't help wondering how the two of them would continue to work together now that Amanda had come to her senses and dumped the notorious playboy before he could dump her. She was more than a little bummed that Amanda wouldn't give her the details of the break-up. She'd have to remember to ask her about when she could get her alone again. She was also dying to get Lee's side of the break-up story and see how they compared as Lee always did have a flair for embellishment when telling stories. She was about to exit having done what she came to do reaching for the door pushing it slightly open when she heard voices coming from the hall.

"You are and evil, evil man, Lee Stetson!"Amanda was saying with exasperation in her voice. Francine knew she should make her presence known, but it sounded like the break-up fight may not be over yet and she was burning with curiosity.

"How am I evil?" Lee had replied. "I don't know what you're talking about." Francine heard the deadbolt click in place.

"I cannot believe you did that to me!"_ uh-oh, _Francine thought. _This can't be good._

"What? What exactly did I do?" She heard Lee say as their voices grew closer to her hiding place. She peeked through the crack in the slightly open vault door to see the two of them standing to the side of Amanda's desk.

"Oh, don't give me that innocent look! You know exactly what you did." Lee just laughed which made Francine even more concerned. How could he be so callous? "There I was trying to have a serious conversation with Francine and you had to throw the whole thing off with that look you were giving me from across the room."

"What look?" Lee said as Francine watched him move closer to Amanda. His back was to her so she couldn't see his face, but she could see Amanda's and she clearly looked perturbed.

"The undressing-me-with-your-eyes look, kinda like the one you've got on your face right now! And the wink? It was all I could do to keep a straight face and I was trying to be sad about the break-up! You just blew that for me."

"I couldn't help it," Lee said. "I missed you last night and in that moment I was wishing that I was undressing you with more than just my eyes." Francine rolled her eyes at Lee's obvious attempt to seduce Amanda into taking him back. Francine watched in dismay as Lee pulled Amanda into his arms and kissed her passionately. She fully expected to see Amanda push him away or slap him, but what shocked was to see instead that not only did Amanda not protest, but she gave into to him immediately wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing him to press her against her desk. _Come on, Amanda, don't give into him. Be strong! Let him know what's what, _Francine silently cheered. She was relieved after a moment when Amanda finally did pull back.

"Lee, stop," Amanda said breathlessly. _Good for you, Amanda,._ Francine thought.

"So, what did Francine say when you told her about our break-up anyway?"

"She wanted to know all the details and if I gave it to you really good," Amanda replied with a big smile.

"You do give it to me really good," Lee said in a low, seductive tone. O_h, please, Could that line be any more obvious? _Francine thought as she watched in shock as Lee lowered his head to nuzzle Amanda's neck. "I think that's why I couldn't help myself."

Francine heard Amanda sigh as Lee continued what he was doing, "You know that's not what I meant," Amanda said as she reached her hand up to the back of Lee's neck. Francine thought she'd pull back from him again, instead she was further shocked when Amanda did just the opposite pulling his head in closer as she leaned back slightly on her desk allowing him better access. From her vantage point, Francine couldn't really see everything that was going on because Lee's back was blocking her view, but she was stunned to see Amanda reach with her other hand to grasp Lee's rear. Her mouth dropped open at this. _Oh, crap, she's going to let him have his way, _she thought. She was wondering if she shouldn't step in and put a stop to it since Amanda didn't seem to have the willpower to do so on her own. This was exactly what she'd tried to warn her about. There was no doubt that Lee Stetson was charming when he wanted in, but she also knew from experience how cold he could be when he wanted out. She was relieved after a minute when she heard Amanda say. "Lee, we can't."

"Why not?" he said as he pulled his head back. Francine shook her head at his sheer gall. How could he ask her something like that? She'd dumped him for a reason.

"For starters, we're at work," Amanda said which was not at all what Francine had expected her to say.

"We don't have to be. How about we take a nice, long lunch, maybe back a my place." S_ay no, Amanda. Come on, say no! _Francine shouted silently.

"There's no food at your place," Amanda said in a sultry voice.

"I know," Lee said seductively. "Just dessert." Lee lowered his head again, this time not to Amanda's neck, but to her collar bone then lower. She watched in horror as Lee yanked the tails of Amanda's blouse from her skirt and she didn't seem to be stopping him. _Anytime, Amanda, _Francine thought desperately. "Think of it as practice for our honeymoon.," as his hands disappeared from her view again and he once again lowered his head. _Honeymoon? _Francine thought. _Had she heard correctly? _ _Is he teasing her with the idea of marriage to get what he wants from her? _It was worse than she thought, he was doing the most despicable thing he could think of and Amanda seemed to be falling for it, hook, line and sinker and she would be the one to suffer. She knew all too well the pain of being stood up at the altar.

"Well, I _am_ a firm believer in practice making perfect, but we're never going to get to our honeymoon if we don't say a wedding date." _There you go, Amanda! Put him on the spot!_ Francine whooper in her head.

"Hey, you know what? Speaking of which," She noticed Lee had stopped his seduction attempt for a moment. "This belongs here," he said as he pulled Amanda's left hand away from his behind. Francine couldn't see what he was doing after that. What exactly was he doing with Amanda's hand? "As for a wedding date, you just tell me when and where and I'll be there. I can't wait to marry you, Amanda King," Lee said as he leaned in to kiss her again. Francine saw Amanda move her right hand from Lee's neck but with Lee blocking her view, she couldn't see what she was doing, couldn't see where either of Amanda's hands were now, but wherever they were and whatever she was doing was causing Lee to groan. Francine finally decided it was time to put a stop to it.

"All right, that's enough, Casanova!" She shouted as she stormed out of the vault and was appalled to see Amanda with one hand in Lee's pants and with her blouse unbuttoned revealing a lacy camisole underneath. "What the hell is going on here?" Francine demanded as Lee and Amanda rushed to straighten their clothing. She pointed a disapproving finger at Lee."You...you are despicable! Of all the low, disgusting things you've done in your time, this is the lowest and the most disgusting! How can you lead Amanda on like this with promises of marriage, knowing what she went through with her first marriage?" Before either of them could say anything, Francine continued to Amanda, "And you, how could you be naive enough to buy into it? I mean, come on, Amanda. I thought you were smarter than this!"

"Francine, Stop!" Amanda said as she held up her left hand showing off the diamond ring Lee had placed on her finger a few minutes earlier.

Francine stared for a moment before saying, "You mean, this...this..."she looked from Amanda to Lee and back to Amanda as she struggled to say the word."...engagement is real?" She glanced from Amanda to Lee.

Lee reached for Amanda's left hand linking his fingers with hers while still holding her hand up so that the diamond was plainly visible. He then said, "Francine, I wouldn't have bought Amanda this very expensive diamond ring if it weren't real."

"You mean, you're actually getting married?"

"Yes, Francine, we are. We were just trying to keep it quiet because of the danger it might put her kids in and we'd both appreciate it if you'd keep it quiet too."

"Yeah, of course. Who'd believe me anyway? Lee Stetson, die-hard bachelor, getting married."

Lee and Amanda both laughed before Amanda turned backed to Lee and said, "So how about that nice, long lunch now?"

"You're on," Lee said with a smile then added, "You know I think after the last couple of days, we're going to have to start checking the vault before we lock the door," which caused Amanda to burst into a fit of giggles. Lee linked his arm with Amanda's and winked at Francine before the two of them left together leaving Francine for the first time in her life stunned into silence.


	2. Rumors of My Death

Author's Note: So, I decided to turn this into a series of one-shots instead of just one. Once I'd written the first one, I thought of several other ideas working off the idea of Francine being the only one at The Agency in know, so I'm going to do one from each episode through the end of the series. I wanted to add a little something to show what Lee was doing while Amanda was having lunch with Joe so this will be more than just an extended tag like the last chapter. On an additional note for those of you who read the first part, I did a little editing to it before completing this chapter adding some additional Francine thoughts and some added dialogue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine walked into the Q Bureau to find Lee pacing back and forth muttering to himself.

"Trouble with this case?"Francine asked.

"No," Lee said as he continued walking back and forth lost in his own thoughts.

"Then what's got you wearing a hole in the floor? Did you and Carol Brady have a fight?"She quipped. _I knew that engagement would never lead to marriage, _she thought.

"What? No! Amanda and I are just fine," he said as he threw himself backwards into his desk chair running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Lee, this is me you're talking to. I can tell when something's bugging you. You can talk to me, you know. I mean who else are you going to talk to? I'm the only one who knows about you two, right? Are you sure everything's ok with you and Amanda?" _What the hell is going on with him? Did Amanda dump him for real this time? Did he get cold feet and decide marriage isn't for him after all?_

"Everything's great with me and Amanda. In fact we were just talking about nailing down some concrete wedding plans yesterday." Francine laughed a little. "What?!" Lee snapped.

"Sorry, just hearing you talk about wedding plans is strange to me."

"Why, Francine? I told you a week ago that this is real. What Amanda and I have is real. I have never felt as close to anyone in my life as I do to Amanda."

"Then what's got you all tied up in knots?" She asked worriedly. She was really starting to get concerned about him now.

"It's her ex," He finally admitted.."He's been calling her non-stop lately and I know that they have to stay in touch because of the kids, but this is more than that. When I picked her up the other day, Dotty said they've been talking now more than they did when they were dating."

"Dotty? You're on a first name basis with her mother now?" _Will wonders never cease? _

"Yes, Francine, and her boys, but that's not the point," He said as he rose from his chair violently flinging it against the wall and began frantically pacing again. "The point is that he is making a move to get her back! Probably right at this very moment! She's having lunch with him now as we speak! You know, I've been expecting this ever since he came back! It's been killing me thinking about it. I mean, she was married to the guy for ten years while I was out running around like a maniac. Plus they have two kids together. "

"Well, what does she have to say about it?" She'd have never believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. Lee Stetson was jealous.

"She says I'm being paranoid and that if he says anything she's just going to tell him about us and that she's taken, But I don't know, they have a history so it's gotta be tempting for her to try to relive that history! And do you know what she said when we were trying to nail down a date for our wedding. She made a crack about how she'd "pencil me in" like our wedding's not even important to her!"

A jumble of thought's ran through Francine's head. _Could it be that Amanda's the one dragging her feet on the wedding? Maybe she's not as committed to the idea of marriage as Lee seems to be. That would make sense since her first one failed. Maybe she's scared to get married again. That would be a first though, Lee being more committed to a relationship that the woman he's involved with. Could it be possible? _She'd thought that Lee must surely be using Amanda when she'd first found out about the two of them but did she have it backward? Could Amanda be using Lee? There's no doubt that Lee Stetson was a definite catch, if anyone could manage to catch him. Had Amanda caught him and now wanted to throw him back? Francine shook off those nagging thoughts. No, this was Amanda King they were talking about. Besides, she knew she couldn't voice any of those thoughts aloud or it would make Lee even crazier."Look, Lee, I believe that Amanda loves you. You're just going to have to trust her to do the right thing. You do trust her, don't you?"

"With my life, but I don't trust him!"

"You don't have to trust him. If you really trust Amanda, then it doesn't matter if you trust him. He's not going to get anywhere making a move on her if she's not interested. You and I both know that you can't make Amanda do anything she doesn't want to do and if it's really you she wants, then you have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, you're right," Lee said releasing the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I mean, this is Amanda King we're talking about. She's too damn stubborn to let anyone push her around. Besides, Amanda's honest and she told me she loves me and that she wants to marry me so I have to believe her, right? I mean, she doesn't lie, right? Not unless she has to and she hates with a passion all the lies she has to tell your mom and her kids to protect them."

"Right," Francine said as she reached out and squeezed his arm. "She told me she loves you too. The day that I confronted her about catching you two together in here. everything's going to be fine. If he does make a move, I have no doubt that she'll put him in his place."

"Thanks, Francine," Lee said. "What'd you come up here for anyway?"

"Oh," She said indicating the folder in her hands. "We ran some background information on the apartment Mrs. Spickens told you about and it seems the place has something of a revolving door when it comes to the ladies who've lived there so we weren't able to pin down anything conclusive on who he might have been involved with."

"Meaning somebody has to conduct interviews in person."

"Exactly," she said.

"I'll get right on it. Maybe it'll help keep my mind off Amanda."

"Do you really think that's possible?" It seemed to her that Amanda was always on his mind.

Lee turned back to Francine before exiting and said with a smile, "No." He gave her a quick wink and headed out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day Francine was walking down the hall to the Q Bureau carrying a file folder for Lee when she heard a commotion coming from within.

"NO! Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it," She heard Amanda screaming. O_h no, What's going on now, _Francine thought. Had they have a fight over Amanda's lunch with the ex?

"Oh, no, this is total payback," Lee replied. "Which you started by the way."

Francine took a deep breath before reaching for the doorknob, nervous about what she'd find on the other side. As she entered she couldn't help but laugh at the sight in front of her. Lee had Amanda pinned down to her desk with a fistful of cake in his hands and both were covered head to toe in cake and frosting.

"How is this payback? You're the one who had the payback coming after smashing wedding cake in my face yesterday!" Amanda said as she pushed him away from her and scrambled to her feet.

"Wedding cake?" Francine said with a bemused expression looking at the two of them and the mess they and the office were in. There was an empty cake plate on the floor behind Amanda's desk and the desk itself and the floor surrounding it were also covered in bits of cake. "Did I miss the big day?" She asked as she carefully stepped around the mess toward Lee's desk.

"What big day?"Amanda said before realization dawned on her face. "Oh, sorry, Francine, For a moment, I forgot that you knew. No, Not yet. Two more weeks"

"Can't wait," Lee said with a smile.

"Oh, I just thought you know, the old bride and groom tradition of feeding each other cake on their wedding day and how it usually ends up with one or both of them wearing it."

"Well, it's not like we're going to be able to have a traditional wedding if no one knows about it," Amanda said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "This is the closest we're going to get to that tradition."

"Francine, you were at the country club yesterday when I ended up chasing Taggert through some poor unsuspecting couple's wedding," Lee said. 'One plus to having a quiet wedding," he said to Amanda. "No gate-crashers."

"Oh, right, You came out covered in wedding cake."

"Which he then decided he had to share with me. This," Amanda said indicating the mess around them, "was a retaliatory strike." Amanda then flung another stray piece of cake at Lee before turning and trying to run, but she was too slow.

"Hey!" Lee said catching her around the middle from behind causing her to squeal and smashing more cake into her chest.

Francine couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Whatever had happened with her ex, Lee seemed to be over it and was laughing and smiling. She was happy to see him happy. Plus Amanda had just confirmed that their wedding was two weeks away so his fears about their wedding not being important to her seemed to be unfounded.

Amanda began tugging at her blouse pulling the sticky mess away from her skin and said to Lee, "Look what you did. Now, I've got cake all down my top and stuck in my bra," she said with a grin. W_ow, that was a total come-and-get-it line coming from Amanda, of all people. _Francine thought. She'd purposely drawn Lee's attention to her breasts. Maybe there are more to Amanda than she knew about. Maybe that's why Lee was attracted to her.

"Well, I'll just have to take care of that for you, won't I?" Lee said with a mischievous grin. _He's falling right into her trap. _Francine thought.

"You did that on purpose for that very reason." _Nice one, Amanda, _Francine thought. _Way to make him think it was his own idea. _The more she learned about Amanda the more she became impressed with her. No wonder she'd become so good in the field so fast. She had this uncanny ability to manipulate any situation, just like she was manipulating Lee now. Then an peculiar thought struck her. Was that what has led to their engagement? Had she secretly been manipulating Lee all this time to get him to fall for her enough to propose while still making him think it was all his own idea.

"Would I do something like that?" He said pretending to sound innocent with wink at his fiancée._ Yeah, she definitely reeled him in like a fish on a hook. _

"Yes," Amanda said pointedly as she tried to brush off loose fragments of cake. "Now, I need a shower."

"You could always shower at my place." When Amanda gave him her exasperated look, he added 'Or you could always go home and try to explain to your mother why you need that shower." _Wow, she's good, wrangling herself an invitation to his place for a shower. Was a shower for two on her mind, perhaps?_

"Ok, you win," Amanda said before jabbing a finger into his chest, "But don't think that means you're getting lucky tonight."

"We'll see about that," he said as he grabbed that finger pulling it into his mouth and began sucking the frosting from it causing Amanda to squeal again. Francine couldn't believe the skill with which Amanda controlled the situation subtly seducing him while all the time making him believe that he was the one seducing her. She had a feeling though she'd better remind them of her presence as they seemed to be so lost in each other that they'd forgotten she was there.

"All right, That is enough mental imagery for one day," Francine said. Lee and Amanda stopped what they were doing and turned toward her. "It's bad enough that I walked in on the two on you undressing each other a week ago." Lee and Amanda both laughed as a horrible thought struck her. "Have you two done, you know, _it _in this office?"

"What do you think, Francine?" Amanda said with a grin at Lee.

"Never mind, I don't wanna know. Forget I asked. I just came up here to give Lee the paperwork to get his ISP reinstated." She hesitated, not wanting to put it in either of their cake covered hands. "I'll just leave it here," She said laying the paperwork on Lee's desk since it had been unaffected by recent events. "I'll just let you two get back to...uh...work." she said as she tiptoed her way around the mess toward the door.

Just before she opened the door Lee voice stopped her. "Francine, are you sure you don't want us to answer your questions?"He said with a wink which earned him a resounding smack on the arm from Amanda.

"I think you just did," Francine said as she made a hasty retreat. She wasn't two steps down the hall when she heard the deadbolt click followed by the sound of Amanda squealing again.


	3. Bad Timing

Author's note: Sorry for the delay in updating. This chapter was a lot more difficult to write as it doesn't include the humor of the last two because of the dark subject matter from the episode it's based on, but I finally got it done after many hours of editing, proof-reading and re-writing. I hope I've done it justice. As always, thanks to all who have been reading and reviewing. Reviews area always appreciated.

**Bad Timing**

Francine and Lee were walking down the hall at The Agency together talking about Lee's upcoming seminar as she thumbed through the list she said, "Well, that's a pretty impressive list: Murchinson from Paris, Egris from Istanbul, Doktor from Berlin, Brassin from DC..."

"Some of the best people in counterintelligence. It's really excising having the under the same roof," Lee replied. Francine couldn't help but notice Lee's attention shift and the smile that appeared on his face as Amanda came barreling toward them.

"Good morning, Francine," she said cheerfully before turning to Lee with a more serious face "I need you," When Francine gave her an arched eyebrow, Amanda pointed at her and said, "Business," before quickly turning back to Lee and saying "Now!" sternly like she would when scolding her children.

Francine didn't know what Amanda was doing to Lee, but he didn't argue once he saw the determined look on Amanda's face. "I'll...uh...just go set up the conference room," she said awkwardly, but couldn't help but wonder what Amanda really wanted and if it was really business.

"Come on," Amanda said. She watched as Amanda linked her arm with Lee's and began to lead him away and Lee leaned in close to Amanda's ear.

"You need me, huh? My place or yours?" she heard Lee say in a seductive voce just before they were out of earshot. _Business, my ass!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine sat in a stunned silence as she listened to Dr. McJohn drone on and on about PD-2. She kept glancing back and forth from McJohn to Lee. _God, this is a nightmare! _

"I could have destroyed most of our counterintelligence operation. If Amanda hadn't insisted on me seeing Doc Kelford, I could've take out the whole agency." _Amanda, _Francine thought. _That explained the incident this morning and why she was so fiercely determined to drag Lee away. _She'd been worried about him after the mugging. A mugging he didn't even report himself and that they wouldn't have known anything about if it weren't for Amanda. She shuddered to think what would have happened if not for her secret romance with Lee. No one would have ever known because Lee would never voluntarily see a doctor. Now, that they knew they at least had a chance to fight this.

Francine's thought were swirling. _Lee could die. _She bit her lip to keep tears from falling. _Why did this have to happen now? _If her calculations were correct from her previous conversations with Lee and Amanda, their wedding was only about a week away. They should be planning on starting a life together, not trying to figure out how to save his. "What about a remedy?" she asked hopefully, the first time she'd spoken since she heard the news. Her face fell at hearing McJohn's response. No antidote and they had to come up with one in 24 hours or it was useless.

She snapped to attention after McJohn left and starting taking copious notes to follow Billy's instructions, her mind still a whirlwind. She was trying to repeat in her mind what Billy was saying to keep it straight. _Magna Alpha, code double red, physicals, Scarlet Rose, Russians. _She wasn't sure her notes were even making sense right now. When Billy finished she said, "Yes, Sir," with all the professionalism she could muster, but she knew it didn't sound very convincing. She started to leave to follow her boss' orders, but then paused as she reached Lee. She gripped him in a tight hug hanging on for dear life.

"Hey," Lee said as he hugged her back.

She whispered low in his ear so Billy wouldn't hear. "We're gonna get you to your wedding day."

"Ok, " Lee said. "It's going to be ok."

Francine pulled back her hands on his shoulders for just a moment and found that she couldn't look him in the eye. She escaped from Billy's office as fast as she could before the tears that had been building threatened started to fall. If she was feeing this way, she could only imagine what Amanda was going through. She hurriedly made her way to the outside elevator to get to the Q-Bureau and jabbed at the button on the wall waiting impatiently. "Come on, come on, come on," she said in irritation. Finally just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the doors opened. she hurriedly stepped in and pushed the button to get to her destination and the elevator started to move on what seemed to be the slowest ascent in history. _God, why does Billy's office have to be so far underground? _"Come on, come on, come on," she said again growing more impatient by the second.

The second the doors opened, Francine flew up the stairs and into the Q-Bureau to find Amanda sitting on the couch across the room sobbing uncontrollably he entire body shaking as she clutched something in her hands that Francine wouldn't quite make out. She dropped the tablet she'd been holding on Amanda's desk as she quickly crossed the room sitting next to Amanda and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. At seeing the other woman's pain, she finally let the tears she'd been holding back fall. Neither woman said anything for a long time. They just leaned against each other until the sobs subsided somewhat.

Amanda pulled back and said shakily, "Thank you, Francine" as she looked down at her closed hand. She opened it staring at her open palm for a moment and that's when Francine realized what she'd been holding. It was the diamond ring that Francine had only seen her wearing once. "I thought it might help me feel better to wear it, but then when I looked down at it on my finger, it just made it worse. I just couldn't stop thinking about what this ring symbolizes. It's supposed to represent our love for each other, the plans we've made, hope for our future, but the more I looked at it, the more hopeless I felt because now we may not have a future," Amanda said tears spilling from her eyes.

"Amanda, don't talk that way. We've still got time. We'll crack this one and you'll have your future," she said. "That if Lee doesn't get cold feet," she quipped trying to lighten the mood a little. Amanda gave her a weak smile.

"He's not gonna get cold feet, Francine," Amanda said with the same determined look she'd seen on her face this morning when she'd dragged Lee off to the doctor.

That was exactly what Francine had been aiming for, to help Amanda find that inner strength she knew was in her. "That's still up for debate whether he goes through with it or not."

When Amanda just glared at her and said, "Not for me,"

"Well, we're going to make sure that he survives this and has a chance to get cold feet so I can prove you wrong," Francine said daring Amanda to challenge her.

Francine watched gleefully as Amanda's facial expression changed from one of despair to one of annoyance. "Francine, why can't you just believe in Lee and that he asked me to marry him because he loves me and wants to get married?" _Good, there still some fight left in her. We're gonna need that._

"Confirmed bachelor, I'm telling you," Francine said. She didn't really believe that anymore, not with the interactions she'd witnessed between them over the past few weeks, but she had to keep Amanda willing to fight. "Listen, I gotta get a jump on this. Billy gave me about a million things to do," she said as she rose from the couch, grabbed her tablet. She paused like she did in Billy's' office. "For what it's worth, Amanda, whether Lee goes through with the "I do's" or not, I _do _believe he loves you." Before Amanda could say anything, she made a quick escape.

Almost 24 hours later, Francine stood back in the van and watched as Dr. McJohn administered the antidote to Lee with Amanda holding his hand the whole time. As soon as McJohn was finished, Lee pulled Amanda into his arms and held her tightly appearing not to care that they had an audience. McJohn then worked his way around the embracing couple and said to her, "Can you give me a hand with him," he said indicating Billy. "I want to get him to the medevac to take care to that bullet wound."

"Sure," She said as she helped McJohn lift Billy to his feet. Lee and Amanda stepped aside, but never let go of each other. Just as they reached the door of the van, two other guys arrived to take over and McJohn followed them, leaving Francine alone with the still embracing duo. She turned back to face them and found that their comforting hug had turned into a passionate one as they exchanged smoldering kisses. She cleared he throat loudly causing them to break their kiss and said, "I...um...I'm just going to go make sure they're taking good care of Billy." She stared at them with a slight smile and. said, "You two should have a little alone time."

"Yeah, we could definitely use some of that after what we've just been through," Lee said as he turned his attention back to Amanda smiling at his fiancé. He appeared to hesitated and turned back to Francine for a moment, "Oh, Francine.."

"Yes?" she said.

"Thanks," he said with a smile and a wink before enveloping Amanda in another passionate embrace.

Francine exited the van to give them their privacy. _Thanks, _she thought. Such a simple word, but that one word combined with the smile said so much. Thanks for putting your ass on the line, thanks for being there, and when combined with the wink it said thanks for being supportive, and thanks for keeping our secret. She quickly peeked back in at them and found they were still lost in each other. She began walking toward the medevac and thought that if they'd survived this, they just might make it to the altar after all.


	4. Do You Take This Spy?

**Do You Take This Spy?**

Francine walked up the stairs leading to the Q-Bureau wondering what she might find on the other side of the door this time, especially now that she knew Lee and Amanda were getting closer to their wedding date. She paused with her hand on the doorknob to hear Lee saying, "I know I'm probably overreacting. I _am_ overreacting, ok?" I just don't want anything to interfere with our wedding plans." _Oh, Lord_, she thought. What's going on now?

"Nothing's going to," she head Amanda say in her typical reassuring voice.

When Francine heard it get quiet, she figured whatever Lee had been ranting about was over and decided it was safe to enter. _Or not, _she thought as she walked in and learned why it was quiet. The two of them were kissing and Lee had one hand hidden from her view at Amanda's waist. _Man, can't these two ever keep their hands to themselves? _she thought. "You know, you two should really start locking this door again," she quipped as they broke apart.

Amanda looked her direction and fired back, "It didn't do any good the last two times since you were in the vault at the time."

"She makes a good point, Francine, Lee added with a grin. When Lee turned to face her, that's when she spotted the ring box in his right hand. She gestured toward it with questioning eyes."Uh...yeah...I should...uh...put these away until Friday," Lee stammered awkwardly as he closed the ring box and shoved it back into his pocket.

"Friday's the big day, huh?"she asked in surprise.

"Yep, Friday," Amanda said with a smile at her future husband. "You sound surprised. You already knew it was happening."

"Yeah, but when you told me a week or so ago that it was coming up in two weeks, I just figured it would be Saturday, you know Valentine's Day and all."

"What better day to start the first full day of our honeymoon," Lee said with an impish grin and a wink to Amanda who grinned back.

"Ok, wishing I didn't have that image in my head now," Francine said she said awkwardly at the images Lee's actions had conjured up in her head. She already had the indelible image in her head of the two of them making out in the office. "So, uh...Billy sent me up here to find out the status of the P-22 that security asked for" she said to Amanda, then to Lee added "and he wants to see you in his office ASAP."

Lee groaned and said to Amanda, "See? This is exactly what I was talking about. Nick Grant is totally going to ruin our wedding plans!"

"Well, we're just not going to let him," Amanda said with fierce determination.. "You go on down there and I'll finish up what I was doing here."

"All right," he said grumpily as he and Francine headed out the door.

"You're really bugged by this, aren't you?" Francine said as they walked down the hall to the outer door.

"Yes, Amanda and I have been busting our asses to clear all our open case files so we can go on our honeymoon with no distractions. The last thing I need is a guy like Nick Grant rearing his ugly head just a few days before our wedding." Francine looked at him in surprise and thought about how much he had changed. He was really resolute that nothing was going to stop him from marrying Amanda. It really made her wonder just what it was about Amanda King that had made him that way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was an awkwardness in Billy's office as Billy was saying, "A beautiful woman, expensive art and Nick Grant,. Sound familiar?"

"Yeah, " Lee said. "You better get the FBI on it before something happens." Francine couldn't help but notice the hopeful expression on Lee's face. He wanted off this case so badly he could taste it and only she knew the reason. He was anxious to get to his and Amanda's wedding day.

"We will," Billy said. "But I want you and Amanda out there also to hold McMasters' hand..."

"Hold it...Billy... I have to..." stammered trying to argue with Billy.

"...And to make them know that we care," Francine grimaced a little as Billy completed his thought unfazed by Lee's futile attempts to argue. "The president will appreciate it," Billy said firmly.

"Oh, boy that's tough luck, huh?" she said trying to sound sympathetic. Then for Billy's benefit added, "You got your vacation all set and hear you are, up to your hind end in big-time crime." Lee crossed the room to the door. Francine continued as Billy sat down at his desk. "I suppose Amanda could go out there first and you could go later. I mean, you're not inseparable, are you?"she said turning to Lee with a wink of her own which was a big mistake as Lee turned back to face her with a look of pure fury on his face. "Uh..." she turned from Lee to notice Billy smirking at her from behind his desk.

Billy chuckled and said, "What did you expect, Francine? I think we both know that Lee and Amanda are not taking separate vacations like they want everyone to think they are."

Francine's eyes widened in panic. _Does he know the real reason behind their trip? _"I...uh...don't know what you mean, Sir," she said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Come on, Francine. You can't tell me you haven't see the way the two of them look at each other when they think no one's looking."

_I've seen a whole lot more than just the way they look at each other, _She thought. Way more than she'd wanted to see, especially the sight of Amanda with her hands in Lee's pants. That was one mental picture she didn't think she'd ever be able to erase from her mind. "Well, I know that they dated for a while, but Amanda told me they broke up," she said trying to cover.

"Don't tell me you actually bought that story of hers?"he said continuing to chuckle. "I think she just made that up to get you off their backs so they could be happy together without any interference, which is also the reason for this joint vacation. I've been waiting for the day when Lee finally has the courage to pop the question," Billy said. "I know he's wanted to for months, but something always seems to be getting in his way. Maybe this lover's getaway will give Lee and Amanda just what they need to move forward in their relationship."

_Boy, was it ever going to move their relationship forward,_ she thought. "You're probably right, Sir," she said as she quickly left the room before her face could betray Lee and Amanda's secret. It was clear that he didn't know everything and she wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Late Friday afternoon, while Big Tony and Felicia McMasters were being arrested and carted off, Francine was startled to see the limo they'd arrived in hurtling toward them, Amanda behind the wheel honking and driving like a bat out of hell. The limo came to a screeching halt in front of them, Amanda quickly rolling down the window, saying, "It's quarter of. You think we can make it?"

"If you drive, we'll make it," Lee said as he got in.

"What's this," Billy said as he leaned toward the limo.

"Vacation," Lee said "Drop you a card." He winked at Francine. She smiled as Amanda stepped on the gas and she watched them drive away to start their future together. They were so close now, but she still couldn't help but wonder now that the anticipation was abated if Lee would still go through with the "I do" part. She'd gotten to her wedding day once, only to have her fiancé' not show up. She had to know.

Francine sat in a cab later still dressed in her chauffer's outfit watching the front door of the Marion Justice of the Peace, the limo parked in front of her. She glanced at her watch. Six O'clock. She wondered what time the ceremony had been scheduled for. They'd never said. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the door opened and Lee and Amanda emerged arm in arm clinging to each other and stealing little kisses as they slowly made their way to the limo both of them beaming. _I'll be damned. They did it,_ she thought with a smile. She paid the cabbie and reached for the bottle on the seat beside her and caught up with them. "Congratulations," she said.

Lee and Amanda both looked at her startled, but didn't release their hold on each other. She looked at Lee's left arm linked with Amanda's right, her left hand over his and smiled at seeing the shiny gold bands both of them were wearing. "How'd you find us?"Lee said.

"Homing device in the limo," Francine said. "Which you might want to turn off. You wouldn't want any interruptions on your wedding night, would you?"

"Right," Amanda said with a glowing smile at her new husband before turning back to Francine. "_Why'd_ you find us?" she asked.

"Well, I just thought the two of you should have at least one person who knows you show some support on your wedding day since you can't do all the traditional wedding stuff that normal couples do," she said as she handed Lee the bottle of champagne she'd brought. "A little wedding present to help you celebrate," she said with a wink. She then opened the back door of the limo. "Let me drive you. Then I can take the limo back before somebody else at The Agency starts wondering where it's at. You definitely wouldn't want a team of agents busting in on you at the wrong time, would you?"

"Good idea. We definitely wouldn't want that," Amanda said. From the look on Amanda's face, Francine realized that Amanda hadn't thought that far ahead when taking off with the limo, her mind so focused on getting to her wedding. When Amanda flashed her a grateful smile, she couldn't help but smile back.

Lee and Amanda both smiled and got in. By the time, Francine had walked around to the front and got in, Lee and Amanda were locked in each other's arms, Lee whispering, "I love, you Mrs. Stetson." He then glanced up to meet Francine's eyes in the mirror and winked as the limo pulled away from the curb.


	5. Mission of Gold

Author's Note: This chapter ended up being quite a bit longer than the prior ones. Mostly because of the subject matter, there was a lot that I wanted to include to end it the way that I wanted it to end. Thanks to all who have been faithfully reading and reviewing.

Lanie

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine was sitting on the edge of her seat in Billy's office stunned by what Lee had just told them. Amanda had been shot through the chest and was in critical condition.

"I flew out here the minute I heard, Billy," Lee's voice said on the speakerphone. Y_eah, Right. You're a dam liar, Lee Stetson, _Francine thought. She knew that wasn't true. She knew that Lee and Amanda had taken off together Friday night to make their wedding. She'd even dropped them off at their hotel and brought the limo back to The Agency motor pool for them. That thought made her chest hurt to think about. _This is so unfair! Amanda should be honeymooning, not hospitalized. Lee should be holed up in a hotel room with his bride, not a hospital waiting room._

"I'm certainly glad her mother was able to locate you," Billy replied.

"Yeah, she was very upset." _Come on, Lee Why don't you talk about how upset you are. She's your wife! _Francine thought.

"I can have a truckload of agents to back you up before dark, Billy offered.

"No, no, Thanks for the offer, Billy, but...uh...Listen, Las Palmas is a very small town. I think it might be easier if we open this up quietly." Francine knew exactly what Lee was doing. He was going crazy waiting for news about Amanda's condition so rather than wait around in the hospital, he was planning to take out Amanda's shooter. That was just like Lee. He'd always been a man of action.

"Ok. You're there. You call the shots."

"Thanks," Lee said.

Francine could hear the tension and worry in his voice and felt she had to say something to comfort him, knowing that he was dangerously close to losing his wife. "Lee, She's strong. She'll be fine." _Lame, Desmond. How's that going to help?_

"You bet she is. Keep your fingers crossed, huh?" Francine smiled weakly at hearing the tone in Lee's voice improve somewhat, filled with hope now. Maybe what she'd said had helped after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next night Francine fell into bed that night completely mentally exhausted but couldn't sleep as she was lying worrying about Amanda's physical health and Lee's emotional health, about Amanda out in Las Palmas fighting for every breath and Lee being able to do nothing to help her,. The way he'd sounded on the phone the day before tore her heart out. While she and Amanda had never been the best of friends, she never would have wished anything like this on her. They didn't always get along, but she had to admit that Amanda brought out the best in Lee. It was obvious that he really loved Amanda. She'd have never thought it possible, but there it was. She shifted positions willing her tortured mind to shut off so her tired body could get some rest. She had just closed her eyes when the phone beside her bed rang. "Hello?' she said.

"Her heart stopped," Lee said in a anguished voice. _Oh, God, Amanda was dead! Poor Lee. They hadn't been able to save her._ Her mind was in a panic.She couldn't stop the tears that formed as she let Lee's words sink in. "She flat lined and they were barely able to revive her," Lee continued. _They revived her, Thank God, _she thought breathing a sigh of relief.

"They revived her. That's good," Francine said in a voice she hoped sounded more encouraging than she felt. "That means she still has a fighting chance and you _know_ she's a fighter."

"But what if they hadn't? The doctor said we're right back to square one. She could still...die...I can't lose her, Francine." Lee paused for a moment. She could hear by the strangled sound in his voice that he was crying. "I can't lose my wife," he said his voice filled with despair.

"You're not going to. You know how strong she is. She never gives up. Look at you and all the times you tried to push her away and she never gave up on you. She even got you to marry her. Do you really think she's going to pack it in now that she's dragged your sorry ass to a wedding chapel?" She was hoping that by masking her own fear with her usual brand of sarcasm, it might help Lee to feel better.

She was relieved when she heard Lee chuckle slightly. "No, I guess not," he said. "It's just when she stopped breathing, I thought I would too. I know you don't want to believe it, Francine, but she means everything to me. I...I love her so much. When I think about losing her, and even worse, losing her with no one ever knowing that she's my wife..." his voice trailed off.

"_I_ know she's your wife, Lee, and I'm hardly no one," she said with the overconfident tone she often used at work to prove to the men she worked with that she was just as good as they were.

"I know. That's why I called you. I needed to talk to someone who knows about us. I'm sorry for calling so late. I wasn't thinking about the time difference. I should let you go so you can get some sleep."

"No, Lee, if you need to talk, I'm here. I wasn't sleeping anyway. I couldn't stop thinking about Amanda."

"Thanks, Francine," he said and sighed deeply. She could just picture him running his fingers through his hair as he often did when he was frustrated or worried. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to just come clean about the whole secret marriage, especially when the doctors were being less than cooperative about giving me information on her condition when I first got here saying that I'm not her next of kin. I just wanted to shout at them, "Damn it, I'm her husband. That makes me her next of kin!' And then there's Dotty. She's been such a rock. I don't know what I'd have done if she hadn't been here, but now I'm swamped with guilt. She's watching her daughter fight for her life and I can't even tell her that she's my mother-in-law. I know she's got questions about what Amanda and I were doing here together. She hasn't asked them, but she's been giving me these looks. These knowing looks. I'm telling the woman would make a hell of an interrogator. This whole incident has made me really rethink the secrecy of it all."

"Maybe it's something to think about," Francine said. "Maybe she'd be happy for the two of you. She always struck me as the kind of pushy mom who wants to see her daughter settled down." She hadn't really liked the idea of them keeping their marriage a secret and she didn't know how they expected it to work. She'd just kept their secret because Lee had asked her to and that's what friends do.

"Maybe, but how do you say to someone "I know your daughter may be dying, but guess what? I've got good news, I married her behind your back," he said sarcastically. "And oh, by the way we've been together since long before you ever met me. Not only that, but I've been regularly putting her life in danger for the past four years."

"Now, Lee, you know that's true."

"Isn't it? I'm the one who got her into this crazy business. Now she may die because of it!"

"Now, you're just talking crazy. The shooting had nothing to do with The Agency. That could have happened to anybody who'd been on that pier."

"But it wouldn't have happened to Amanda if she hadn't been with me, if we hadn't been there to meet _my_ friend, if I hadn't told her to stay in the car, if I'd have caught sight of the shooter sooner, if I hadn't missed when I fired on him..."

As Francine listed to Lee's rant, it struck her that his guilt was about more than just lying to her mother-in-law, he was blaming himself for her shooting. It wasn't like Lee to wallow in self-pity and guilt. She knew she had to say something to get him back on the right track. "Lee, stop! It is not your fault that Amanda was shot so just stop talking like that right now! I'm not going to let you take the blame for something someone else did and guess what? Your bride would tell you the same thing. If she were conscious, you know she'd tell you to get your head out of your ass and realize that she's an adult and makes her own choices. You know as well as I do, that nobody can tell Amanda what to do."

"You're right," Lee said. "You're right. Thanks, Francine. I should go. I've still got a lot of work to do to pin down the bastard who did this to her. When I get him, he'd better be damn sure he's got all his affairs in order."

_Now, that's more like the Lee Stetson I know_, she thought. "Yeah, he'd better," she said. "Good-night, Lee."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Billy's office, Francine and Billy were discussing his their next course of action, now that Lee had figured out who was behind Amanda's shooting and why.

"Maybe we should catch a plane," Billy said. _Yes, we should_, Francine thought.

"No," Lee said. "There's no time for that. We'll do the best we can from here?"

"We?"Francine questioned. Did that mean Amanda had regained consciousness?

"Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? It's always been Amanda and me, but she's got enough to do right now," Lee said with sadness in his voice. Besides, I've got an old friend to use as backup. I'll talk to you later, Billy. Scarecrow out."

When Lee hung up, Francine said. "I don't care what he says, at least one of us should be out there."

"You heard what Lee said. There's no time for that."

"We don't know that. Who knows how long it will take for Lee to find Scott." she said. "Besides, someone should be there for Amanda's mom too, especially if it takes Lee too long to find him. She shouldn't be alone, now while Amanda's fighting for every breath.."

"I can't exactly do it," Billy said. "Mrs. West knows me and she'd wonder why I was there and that could lead to a whole host of problems."

"Then, let me go. She doesn't know I work for The Agency. I only met her the one time and that was three years ago. I doubt she'd even remember me."

"You're really worried, aren't you?" Billy said. When Francine nodded tears again forming in her eyes, He said. "Go!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nine hours later, Francine frantically walked into the hospital, flashing her ID at the nurse's station and was directed to Amanda's room. She knew she was abusing her Agency privileges in doing so, but she didn't want to waste time making up a cover story that might still not be good enough to get her in to see Amanda. She walked in to find Lee by Amanda's bedside holding her hand. She gasped at the sight of Amanda looking so pale and hooked up to tubes and machines. Her eyes were closed. She felt tears once again stinging her eyes as seeing someone so strong looking so weak and helpless. She watched silently as Lee bent over and kissed her lightly on the forehead whispering, "I love you, Mrs. Stetson."

"How is she?"Francine asked Lee turned not even seeming surprised to see her there He gestured with his head to the hallway. When they stepped out into the hall together. "Any change?"

"Yeah, she regained consciousness about seven hours ago. She's just sleeping now. They've got her doped to the gills on pain meds so they said she'll be sleeping a lot. Her mom went to go get some rest herself a few hours ago. She hasn't slept since she got here."

"What about you? Have you slept? You look like hell."

"Thanks a lot Francine," he said folding his arms across his chest. That's when she noticed that he wasn't wearing the wedding band she'd seen on his finger the previous Friday. When he noticed her staring at his bare left ring finger, he said, "I know, but it's not like I can wear it without coming clean about the whole elopement. I don't feel comfortable with doing that without talking to Amanda first and she's in no condition to make a decision like that right now." He looked back into the room where his wife was still sound asleep.

"You know, if you're worried about the safety of the kids, you should talk to Billy about it. The Agency has been known to be very good about looking after agents with families."

"Francine," Lee said with a worried look.

"What?" she said turning the direction he'd been looking to see Amanda's mom approaching.

"How's our girl, Lee?" Dotty said as she greeted him with a kiss to the cheek. Francine raised her eyebrows as she watched Lee respond with an arm around his mother-in-law's waist half-hugging her. He gave her a look that said "What?"

"She's sleeping," he said as he released her. "But Dr. Neely said she's improving and they should be able to take her off the morphine drip in a couple of days if she keeps it up."

"She will," Dotty said confidently. "It's like I told you when I first got here. She never gives up on anything that's important."

"That's the same thing I said to Lee on the phone the other day," Francine said.

Dotty turned to look at Francine her face alight with vague recognition. She said, "We've met before, haven't we?" Francine grimaces slightly hoping she didn't remember her as the chimpanzee lady.

Lee came to her rescue saying, "Dotty, this is Francine Desmond. She works with Amanda and me at IFF."

"Oh," Dotty said her voice filled with emotion. "And you flew all this way to see her? That's so wonderful!" Dotty threw her arms around Francine."Thank you!" Francine squirmed a little at the unexpected contact and began shooting daggers at Lee who was laughing uncontrollably at Dotty's gesture. Dotty let go of Francine as abruptly as she'd grabbed her. "It is so wonderful to know that my daughter has people in her life who care about her this much," She gushed.

In spite of the awkwardness of the unexpected hug, Francine couldn't help but smile. "It's my pleasure, Mrs. West. Amanda is very special to all of us at IFF. Isn't she, Lee?" she said pointedly

"Of course I know how special Lee thinks she is. They've been seeing each other for some time. And I did figure out that it's no coincidence that they were here together when Amanda was shot."

"Oh, really," Francine said with a grin at Lee.

"Oh, it's quite obvious that they intended this vacation as a lover's getaway. I knew that before Amanda even left home. She was so vague about her plans, it was very apparent that she didn't want me to know that she was going away with her boyfriend. Not that I'm judging, mind you? Amanda's been alone for so long, it's nice that she finally has someone in her life who loves her." Francine shook her head at Dotty's rambling. She could clearly see where Amanda got it from.

"All right, you caught us," Lee said with a smile. "But under the circumstances, it really wasn't much of a lover's getaway."

"Well, maybe this whole thing will get you two moving in the right direction. Like say, for instance, if you were to get married, then you wouldn't have to worry about getting away. You could be together all the time. I mean, it's only a matter of time, right? I've seen the way you two look at each other." Francine chuckled at Dotty's bluntness and cast an "I told you so" look at Lee.

"You know, Mrs. West, I was just saying the same thing to Lee right before you got here. You're not the only one who's seen the way they look at each other. You should see the things they get up to at the office," she said with a light-hearted chuckle and a wink at Lee. "I'd just love to see these two crazy kids make it official." Francine was laying it on thick and she knew it, but with all that had happened and how broken up Lee had been with the idea that Amanda could have died with no one ever knowing about their marriage she felt she ought to give Lee a nudge in the right direction.

"Well, then you and I will just have to tag-team them and make them see reason," Dotty said. "Have you gotten to see Amanda yet?"

"No, I only just found out her condition from Lee here."

"Well, you must come in and see her," Dotty said linking her arm with Francine's and leading her into Amanda's room. "Maybe when she wakes up, you and I can try to talk some sense into my stubborn daughter about getting married again. I know she's got to be the one dragging her feet. I have no doubt Lee here is more than willing just by seeing what this ordeal has put him through." Francine too knew all too well what this ordeal had put him through. She hadn't witnessed it, but she'd heard it in his voice. "Lee, Dear, are you coming?"

'Right behind you," he said as he stepped into Amanda's hospital room. He sat on one side, Dotty on the other with Francine standing behind her.

"So, Lee," Francine said. "IS she right? Is Amanda the one dragging her feet on the marriage issue?" She asked already knowing the answer just wanting to see him squirm.

"That's between me and Amanda," he said with a smile and a wink. Francine smiled and winked back glad to see him smiling again knowing that his wife was going to make it.


	6. One Flew East

**One Flew East**

Francine was about to enter the Q-Bureau when she heard Lee saying, "Amanda, this is not so simple." She wondered if he was referring to the secrecy of their marriage. Certainly they hadn't had an easy time of it, nearly being separated by a bullet on their honeymoon. She walked in to find Lee and Amanda huddled close together, Lee in his desk chair, Amanda behind him leaned over his with one hand on Lee's shoulder, the other absently playing with his hair. She took in the scene and said, "Am I interrupting something...again," she quipped.

"Just work, Francine," Amanda said not adjusting her position for Francine's benefit as she turned her attention back to the computer screen.

"She might have been if she'd waited a couple of minutes to walk in here," Lee said indicating the position of Amanda's hands.

"Oh?," Amanda said a glint in her eye. "Is that so? What exactly do you have on your mind, Mr. Stetson?" Francine took in the interaction between husband and wife and couldn't help but notice the unspoken communication between them. It was clear by the look on Amanda's face that she knew exactly what Lee had on his mind.

"I don't think I want to know," Francine said with a wry grin. She noticed though that this time neither of them grinned back.

"Well, our weekend together _did_ get interrupted," Lee pointed out."We weren't supposed to be back at work until Monday." Francine took note of the tension in Lee's voice the light teasing tone gone. It occurred to her that while they'd been teasing each other just seconds ago, there seemed to be an underlying seriousness behind it that said they weren't really teasing. In fact, there was almost a hint of pleading in Amanda's eyes.

"Seems like sometimes all we do is get interrupted," Amanda said with a sigh. Francine couldn't help but notice the edge in Amanda's voice when she said that. She had a feeling that the secret marriage was already starting to wear thin. "What's up, Francine. You came in here for a reason."

"Oh, yeah," Francine said handing her a file. "This is all we could dig up on Rollins and the dirt behind his being expelled from The Agency without having Dr. Smyth's ok. He's got a lot of the files sealed and as angry as he is about Justice breathing down his neck over Donaldson's shooting, he's not very forthcoming with unsealing them."

"Thanks, Francine," Lee said. "We think we may have found a connection between Donaldson and Rollins at Briarwood through a health care conglomerate called Hospimerica. We were just going to go talk to one of Hopimerica's guys to do some more digging."

"Yeah, we should go," Amanda said as she reluctantly released her hold on her husband walking to her own desk to pick up her purse. "The sooner we get this wrapped up, she sooner we can get back to our weekend."

"Yeah," Lee said as he rose from his desk. Francine noticed the same edge in his voice that he'd heard in Amanda's. She watched in silence as they exited the room together, Lee's hand placed on the small of Amanda's back and felt a twinge of sadness for them. She recalled how happy they'd been on their wedding day when she'd volunteered to play chauffeur for them. They'd both been downright giddy when she'd dropped them at their hotel, now that giddiness seemed to be a thing of the past now that cold, hard reality had set in. She couldn't help but worry about them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine was heading upstairs to help Lee with his research into Briarwood when she caught Amanda heading toward the elevator as well. "Hey," she said.

"Hi, Francine," Amanda said looking tense.

"Where are you off to?" Francine asked surprised she wasn't upstairs in the Q-Bureau with Lee.

"Just needed to turn in a preliminary progress report to Billy," she said "Now, I have to go home for a bit to check on the boys." They stepped into the elevator together.

"Oh, I see," Francine said. "By the way, I didn't really get a chance to say anything earlier, but welcome back."

"Thanks," Amanda said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you ok? I know, the shooting took its toll..." Francine couldn't help but notice how distracted and tense she looked.

"I'm fine, Francine. The doctor cleared me to resume all of my normal activities. I'm completely healed except for the scars it left behind," she said with a sigh. Francine couldn't help but observe that she even looked a little sad.

"Are you sure everything's ok," Francine asked worriedly as the elevator doors opened.

"Francine, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine and I really wish everyone would stop treating me like I'm some fragile piece of porcelain. I'm not the first agent in history to ever be shot," she said as she turned on her heel and marched toward exit.

_What the hell was that about? _Francine thought as she stepped out of the elevator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How much back up to you need?"Francine asked a while later once Lee had told his plan to make a visit to Briarwood.

"Just Amanda," Lee said as he picked up the phone. "We go charging in there with an army and someone's liable to get angry and wanna see a search warrant."

"Yeah, right, and I don't think that's something Dr. Smyth would be quick to approve," she said.

"Not likely, he said as he dialed Amanda's number. After a few seconds, Lee hung up the phone in frustration. "Damn! Line's busy, I guess I'll have to go talk to Amanda in person."

"Don't sound so enthused about it," Francine said sarcastically as Lee rose from his seat.

"I'm not un-enthused, Francine," he said but his facial expression told a different story.

"Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," he said in an upbeat tone that was just a little too forced to be sincere.

"I mean, with you and Amanda," she said probing for information to get to the root of the tension she'd sense between them before. "I couldn't help but notice that the two of you seemed a little on edge earlier. What's wrong? Is the honeymoon over already?" she teased trying to get a smile out of him, but all she got was an icy glare.

"As you well know, Francine, the honeymoon was over before it ever really got started. You were there at the hospital, remember? Amanda spent our honeymoon hospitalized and I spent it wondering if my wife was going to live or die and trying to track down the guy who put her there."

"Yes, I remember, but that's all over now and Amanda's fine. She's recovered and back to work so what's the problem?" She couldn't put her finger on just what had changed between them. The past few weeks leading up to their wedding when she'd seen them together, she'd been sure that she'd finally seen something in Lee to indicate that he really was a changed man. Now, she wasn't so sure. "Don't tell me you've gotten tired of the old ball and chain already?" she joked which earned her another scowl from Lee.

"No, far from it," Lee said. "Look, the problems between me and Amanda are between me and Amanda."

"So, you admit there _is_ a problem," Francine pushed. She was shocked to hear him say that as happy as they'd been on their wedding day.

Lee ran a hand through his hair in frustration and said, "Yes, there's a problem, ok? But I don't really want to discuss it."

"Lee, you know that I'm your friend and I want to help you in any way that I can. I mean, I've supported the two of you so far and I've helped you keep your secret, haven't I?" She could tell that Lee was really agitated by something and Amanda had been too when she'd seen her, but neither of them would talk about it.

Lee sighed again. "Yes, but this is... it's private and I..." his voice trailed off and Francine caught the faint sign of an embarrassed flush on his face before he dropped his head in an attempt to hide it.

"Oh," Francine said realization dawning. "So, is it true what they say then about your sex life deteriorating after marriage?"

Lee's head snapped up at that comment. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Well, it was just a hunch until the look on your face just confirmed it. So, it's true then?"

"No, Francine, it's not!" He said defensively but not entirely convincingly. "Ah, hell, I don't know if it is or not. There hasn't been anything to deteriorate...we haven't..." his voice trailed off again.

"Oh, you haven't?" Francine said in shock. This was not what she expected.

"Not since our wedding night," he said leaning back against the corner of his desk.

"Wow," she said. "Well, that explains the tension." S_exual tension, _she added to herself. "Has keeping your secret just kept you from spending time together? If so, that's all the more reason to just come clean like I suggested in California."

"No, it's not that at all. Amanda spend the night at my place the other night. In fact she was still there the next morning when Billy came by to tell us we were needed for this case. We'd planned to spend some time together, but it didn't work out like either of us wanted. She was self-conscious and I was nervous. She hid in the bathroom for damn near an hour and when she did finally come out she jumped right into bed, pulled the covers up to her chin and turned the light out like she didn't want me to look at her. Then when I tried to get her to uncover herself, she got nervous and I was already nervous because I was afraid I'd hurt her if I fought her too much since she's still recovering from her shooting so I stopped trying. Then she said accused me of not being attracted to her anymore because she's damaged goods now and I don't even know what the hell that was supposed to mean. I'm just as attracted to her now as I ever was. I just can't seem to convince her of that."

"Lee, take a breath. I think Amanda's penchant for rambling has rubbed off on you," she said with a chuckle. "As for your nervousness about hurting her. you're going to have to get over or you're just going to make the situation worse." Between Lee's rant and Amanda's comment about being treated as fragile and the sadness in her voice when talking about her new scars, she'd concluded what the real issue was.

"I have a legitimate concern, Francine. She nearly died," Lee said vehemently.

"But she didn't, Lee. She's alive and well and she's a flesh and blood woman who needs to feel wanted by her husband. She has been given the ok to resume _all_ of her normal activities. I'm surprised at you not figuring out what's going on in Amanda's mind. That "damaged goods" comment is very obvious to me. The shooting left her scarred and she's afraid you won't want her anymore because of it."

"What? No. That's ridiculous. I've got more scars than I can count from this job and it never seemed to make a difference to her and I never get nervous about letting her see mine."

"Well, you're not a woman. Let's face it, Lee, even as far as women have come in the modern age, we're still judged by our appearance whether we like it or not. I know whenever I'm with a new guy and we're getting...close, I get a little nervous. I've got some ugly scars myself,"

"Ok, but you and Amanda are two different people. She's nowhere near as vain as you are," Lee said.

"Gee, thanks a lot," Francine said.

"You know what I mean, Francine. You get stressed if you break a fingernail or have a single hair out of place. Amanda doesn't."

"Lee, trust me, every woman has a little bit of vanity in her, even sweet, wholesome Amanda. If it's really true that the scars from her shooting don't make her any less desirable to you, then you're going to have to bust your ass to prove it to her so you can both relax and get back to acting like disgustingly-in-love newlyweds."

"And how, exactly do you suggest I do that?"

"You, with your many years of experience are asking _me_ that?" Lee just glared at her again. "Ok, look, I remember from our very brief time together how...skilled you are. It's time to put those skills to good use," Francine said with a wink as she headed out the door.


	7. All That Glotters

**All That Glitters**

Francine looked at the memo in her hand and frowned when she saw what Lee's new assignment was. _This can't be good, _she thought reflecting back to her conversation with Lee from a couple of weeks ago. Seeing the interactions between Lee and Amanda since then, she had a feeling that they'd worked it out since the tension between them seemed to have dissipated, but the last thing they needed in their brand-new marriage was another complication. She decided she'd better have a talk with Lee about it. She spotted him across the bullpen on the phone and wondered who he was talking to.

As she approached him, she heard him closing his conversation with, "I'll be looking forward to it," as he hung up the phone. _Looking forward to what?" _she thought.

She couldn't resist giving him a hard time, "Congratulations, Lee!" she said.

He sighed and said, "On what?"

"On your new assignment. Smyth's memo just floated across Billy's desk" she explained as she walked with him out of the bullpen. "Elisa Danton, mm-him, You are just the man for the job," she said in a teasing tone trying to get a rise out of him to find out how he planned to handle the awkward situation Smyth had put him in. While she knew he was married, Smyth didn't. She imagined that Dr. Smyth had given Lee this assignment based on his old reputation. Only she knew that his old ways were a thing of the past.

"And a job is all it is, Francine," Lee said with an obviously frustrated sigh. _Good, that means he's not happy about this assignment. _"Purely professional, ok?"

_That's a good start, _she thought, but she still couldn't help wanting to probe further to make sure it stayed that way for his sake and Amanda's. "Oh, how times have changed. I seem to remember lots of stories about you and Elisa that kept many a boring DC cocktail party going."

When Lee only glared at her with a noncommittal, "Huh," she continued on.

"Oh, my favorite one, you, Elisa and that little French ballerina. How did you ever manage all of that in the back of an Italian sports car," she said with a lascivious grin trying to gauge what his intentions were as they stopped at the elevator.

Lee laughed uncomfortably in response before replying with a scowl. "She was a violinist, it was a limo and it wasn't east. I was in traction for a week. But that was then and this is now," he said pointedly. "And like you've just said, things have changed."

"Uh. you know what they say about leopards and their spots," she said hoping against hope that Amanda's faith in him was well-placed and that he really had changed.

"I'm not a leopard," Lee said with a look that said he had no intention of violating his vows to his wife.

"Well, maybe not," she said more hopeful now that she'd talked to him, but now concerned for how Elisa might react. She'd heard that the vixen didn't handle rejection well. "But I hear Elisa has a pretty mean set of claws. I'd be careful."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine walked down the hall toward the Q-Bureau later that day to check on Amanda's progress regarding researching the earring.

As she approached the door she paused for a moment, never sure what she'd be walking in on. She heard Amanda saying in a teasing voice, "I can get a lot done when I don't have any distractions in here."

Lee then replied, "Listen, uh, Amanda, when all this is over, do you mind if I get back to distracting you?" Francine couldn't help but smile that Lee was still thinking about his wife even after his visit with his old flame.

"I'll be looking forward to it," she heard Amanda reply. Francine entered the room just as Lee was exiting with a huge smile on his face. She looked at him with an arched eyebrow. He winked as he passed by her.

"Well, what was that all about?" Francine asked Amanda as she noticed she had a very similar smile on her face to the one she'd just seen on her husband's.

"Just a private joke," Amanda said with a smile.

"So, you're not worried about this assignment of Lee's?" Francine asked nervously wondering how Amanda was dealing with the possible ramifications of the situation.

"No, why should I be?" Amanda asked pausing in her work to look up at Francine.

"I don't know, I just thought you might be a little concerned with Lee's past rearing its ugly head."

"The past is the past, Francine. I prefer to concentrate on the future, like the plans that Lee and I have this weekend," she said in a suggestive tone.

"Oh? You two have plans for the weekend?" Francine said in a sardonic grin.

"Yeah, the boys are going to be with their father this weekend and miraculously, we both have the weekend off, so we thought we'd take advantage of it to make up for some of the time we lost on our interrupted honeymoon."

"Oh, so things are ok on that front, now?" Francine queried.

"Couldn't be better," Amanda said with a grin. "Why?"

"Just concerned, that's all. I know that your marriage didn't get off to the greatest start with your shooting combined with the aftermath of it," Francine said. "Now, with this assignment, I was worried that it might make things tense for the two of you."

"Listen, Francine, before we got married, Lee and I sat down and had an in depth conversation about our past relationships and we agreed that it was better not to dwell on the past, but instead to concentrate on our future. This assignment of Lee's really isn't bothering me, especially when Lee's confronted by my past on a regular basis."

"Your past?"Francine said skeptically as she thought there could be nothing in Amanda's past that could compare to Lee's.

"Yes, Francine. I was married before for ten years, remember? Lee faces that every time he comes to the house and hangs out with the boys, every time Joe calls the office to ask me about making plans with them, every time Phillip and Jamie talk about their dad while Lee's around, even every time he hears someone call me Mrs. King. I think that part bugs him the most. It's a constant reminder for him, one that will never go away."

"Yes, but it's hardly the same thing," Francine said. "You were married. You weren't running around bed-hopping all over the place."

"No, but I think that's what makes it worse for Lee. The majority of Lee's previous relationships were frivolous, meaningless flings with no emotional connection. That makes it easy for him to turn his back on his past. My relationship with Joe was serious. I was once in love with him enough to marry him and the fact that we have two children together is something that will connect us for life even though those feelings are no longer there. That's not something that I can turn my back on as easily as Lee can his past. Joe will always have to be a part of my life because of Phillip and Jamie."

"Huh," Francine said. She recalled the agitation she'd seen in Lee a few weeks ago when he was concerned that Amanda's ex was making a play for her. She recalled the frantic pacing, the worried look on his face, and the frustration that he'd displayed at not knowing what was going on. She thought about what Amanda said about people calling her Mrs. King. It had never even occurred to her how hard that might be for Lee to hear knowing that Amanda still carried her ex-husband's name even though she was now married to him. Maybe Amanda was onto something.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The following Monday morning, Francine saw Lee and Amanda walking into the bullpen on their way to the conference room for their morning briefing, Lee's hand at the small of Amanda's back as was common these days. She noticed the huge smiles plastered on both of their faces as they laughed about something only they understood.

"How was your weekend," she asked with a knowing smile.

"Great, Francine," Amanda said.

"Yeah, we got a lot done that we don't always get to do," Lee said with a wink as he and his wife walked into the conference room together taking their customary seats side by side. _Good, _she thought as she followed behind them.


	8. Suitable For Framing

Author's Note: Re-watching this episode recently, I just noticed that during Lee's argument with Billy about going to New York, Francine was walking behind them during the majority of that conversation. I decided to use that little tidbit to my advantage in writing this installment.

**Suitable For Framing**

"Lee, You're on the 10:45 to New York with me tonight," Billy said toward the end of their meeting. Francine watched as Lee visibly grimaced and she saw his shoulders slump in defeat. "Our Soviet contact at the U.N says he has something to share with us and it's definitely worth the air fare." Francine continued to watch as Lee rolled his eyes and frowned. "All right, Let's get on it," Billy finished as the meeting broke.

Francine's eyes followed Lee as he hurried to catch up to Billy, "Uh, Billy," he said getting his boss' attention. "Billy, can't New York wait 'til Monday, Sunday, even?" Francine followed behind them at a distance so as not to be caught, but still close enough to hear their conversation.

"I'm afraid not, Scarecrow," Billy said as he and Lee exited the bullpen, Francine hurried to catch up. " I want our fingers in this pie, ASAP."

"Yeah, but-"

"Besides, Dr. Smyth's voice has already risen half an octave and you know what that means."

"Then how about we fly out first thing in the morning," Lee suggested.

"What is it with you?" Billy said as he stopped and turned to Lee. Francine bustled by them so as not to appear to be eavesdropping, but stopped around the corner out of sight where she could still hear what was going on. Lee's obvious desperation to get out of this trip to New York had her worried. "There was a time I couldn't keep you out of New York. What were their names, the Orgalovksy sisters-"

"Let's not get into that, ok" Lee said seeming almost embarrassed. Francine could tell that with the incident with Elisa Danton last week and Billy bringing up the Russian tumblers just now, he was having a hard time dealing with his playboy past, especially now that he was a married man. "It's just that I've made some very important plans for this evening." _With Amanda, no doubt, _Francine thought. _How sad for Lee. He actually wants to be a good husband and spend time with his wife and he can't even tell Billy that's why he doesn't want to go._

"Well, you've broken plenty of those," Billy pointed out.

"This is different," Lee said in a pleading tone.

"So I've noticed," Billy said as he walked away from Lee and right toward Francine's hiding spot. She opened the folder she had in her hand and hid her face behind it until Billy was out of sight before hurrying to catch Lee before he entered the elevator. She caught up to him just in time to see him violently job his thumb at the down button.

"Trouble at home?" she inquired softly so that no one but Lee would hear her.

"What home?" Lee said sarcastically with a deep sigh of frustration as he stepped into the elevator that had just arrived Francine following behind him. Once the elevator doors were closed. "I don't really have a home. What I have is a very depressing, empty apartment. I mean, who am I kidding? Amanda and I may be legally married, but we don't have a marriage in any kind of real sense. We don't share a home or any kind of real life together. All we have are stolen moments here and there."

"Didn't you just spend last weekend together?" she inquired remembering the glowing looks both of them had on their faces Monday morning.

"Not the whole weekend, not like we were supposed to. We ended up only having Saturday night through Sunday afternoon. Amanda's ex was late getting back into town from God-only-knows-where so he didn't pick up the kids until Saturday afternoon, then dropped them off again Sunday night. I swear to God, I think the bastard does this shit on purpose to keep me and Amanda from being together. He may be getting married, but I still think he's carrying a torch for her and hates it that she's married to me now."

"Do you really believe that?"Francine asked thinking back to her conversation with Amanda last week and how Lee had to constantly deal with her ex still being in her life.

"Why the hell wouldn't I? Every time it's his turn to have the boys and Amanda and I make plans to be together, he pulls this crap!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "And if it's not him, it's this damned agency keeping us apart!" He kicked the wall in anger.

"Lee, why don't you just tell Billy the truth. Surely, if you can trust me, you can trust him. He's your friend."

"No, Francine, that would defeat the whole purpose of keeping this secret if we starting just blabbing it to everyone."

"Well, I think Billy needs to know. He might be more understanding of your situation if he knew. After all, he's a married man himself." Francine pointed out.

"I don't know, Francine," he said.

"Think about it. You and Amanda could use another ally and I think Billy would be happy for you. Look at how many times he's already dropped not-so-subtle hints about you settling down with Amanda."

The elevator doors opened and Lee stepped out. "Look I can't talk about this anymore. I have to let Amanda know that yet another weekend has been ruined," he said as he made a hasty escape.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine entered the Q-Bureau impatiently disturbed by her phone call with Andropolous to find Amanda at Lee's desk typing furiously. "Hey, Amanda, have you talked to Lee? I left him a message over an hour ago and he hasn't called back yet."

"Not since last night," she said a slight smile on her face never taking her eyes of the computer screen. "And we didn't really talk much then."

"Oh?" Francine said with a bemused look.

"Well, we didn't have much time together before Billy showed up to drag him off to the airport." Francine saw the look of sadness that crossed Amanda's face, heard the deep sigh of frustration that matched Lee's of the day before.

"Ok, listen, it's really none of my business, but have the two of you ever considered just coming clean about this whole thing? It seems that it would make this situation a whole lot easier for you. Then you wouldn't have to sneak around just to spend some time together outside of the office."

"That's not really a great idea, Francine. Not while we're still both active field agents. The danger to our family could-"

"I don't get your logic in that," Francine interrupted. "Anytime, there's been a crisis that could put your boys at risk, hasn't Billy always been more than happy to send in a team of agents to watch your house to keep them protected?"

"Yes, but Billy can't plan for everything. You know as well as I do that things come up unexpectedly. Bad guys attack when and where they choose to."

"Then wouldn't it make more sense if you and Lee were together all the time so you could both protect the kids together? Say, for example, someone attacked at the house, Lee would be there already not miles away where you may run the risk of him not getting there in time to do anything about it."

"I get the point you're trying to make, Francine," Amanda said finally looking up and Francine could see her eyes filling with tears. "This whole damn thing has just gotten so complicated." Amanda blinked back the tears, not letting them fall and said, "Look I can't talk about this anymore," echoing Lee's statement from the day before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine was puttering around Lee's apartment organizing her files and attempting to organize het thoughts as she heard Lee arguing with Amanda on the phone.

"You're not going," He said firmly. "Amanda, I don't have time to argue. McCaslin's office is in the Alexandria station. They've got full security there and I may be locked out of the web in less than an hour. Now, please stay put." Francine couldn't help but notice the edge in his voice at the last statement though she tried to pretend she wasn't listening. You know, Amanda I may be ending both our careers here, but I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry one bit, especially for the last four years. You know, I was thinking no matter how this turns out, this may be something that we both need, a reason to live like normal people." _Good, _Francine thought. _That means he's at least thinking about what I said. _

She closed her briefcase with a firm snap as she entered the living room saying, "Traffic in Alexandria can get pretty heavy if there's a game in Georgetown. May be should head out."

Listen, Francine, I'm asking you to do a hell of a favor for me. You can tell me to go jump in the lake if you want."

"If I don't help you, your chance of success is less than half. If you blow it, we're out on our ears and like you said, you might just have to live like a normal person. I can't let you be normal, Stetson, no you and Amanda both," she teased. "Come on," she said as she walked out the front door.

"Hey, wait a minute," he said as he followed behind her. "Haven't you been the one preaching since California that we should just come clean about our marriage?"

"Yes," she said. "And I still believe that, but that hardly equates to a normal life as long as you're both still working for The Agency."

"Ok, you make a good point there," Lee said with a chuckle. "So, you really think it's a good idea to just stop hiding?"

"I do," Francine said. "I've thought it was stupid from the start that you've been hiding and I don't just mean since I found out you two were getting married. I mean since I first realized that you were a couple all the way back to the Stemwinder case. I could never figure out why you and Amanda felt you had to sneak around."

"You figured it out that long ago?" Lee asked with a bemused expression as they reached the elevator.

Francine was quiet for a moment as she thought back to all the times that she'd caught them in less-than-professional moments at the office. "Hmmm, Now that I really think about it, no. I figured it out months before then during the Martinet/Krutiov thing. You and Amanda were already dating then weren't you?" She smiled slightly as she remember the crack she'd made about "opening night."

"Yeah, we were dating then," Lee admitted. "To the point that neither of us was seeing anyone else anymore. We had been for months, but it seemed like every time we tried to move our relationship forward, something was always stopping us or _interrupting _us," he said with a pointed look at her.

"All the more reason to let the cat out of the bag," she said as she stepped into the elevator while Lee stepped in soon after. "If people knew you were a couple, they'd be more likely to let you have a little more time together without interruptions. Just something to think about." She smiled at him as they rode the elevator in silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and Francine stood in the Q-Bureau laughing together at the way they'd conned Dr. Smyth into giving them two weeks off as he stormed off in a huff. Francine watched as Billy moved to follow behind the old man trying to stifle his own laughter and just before leaving the room, he turned and winked at both of them.

"So, what do plan to do with your two weeks off," Francine asked just as Amanda entered the room.

"Do you even have to ask?" Lee said with a smile at his wife as he crossed the room to put his arms around her. He pulled Amanda into a tight embrace and winked at Francine.

Francine couldn't help but smile back at the two of them and hope that he'd use the two weeks not only to spend some long overdue private time with his wife, but also to discuss the idea she'd planted in both their heads about changing the way they were living. "Well, I should let you to get to it," she said as she left the room. She was barely out the door when she heard the familiar click of the lock being snapped in place.


	9. A Matter of Choice

Author's note: this chapter ended up being much longer than prior chapters because there was so much to include in it. Sorry for the long delay in updating. It took me forever to figure out how to work Amanda into this one because so much of the episode was centered on Lee and Francine. I hope that the solution I came up with works without feeling forced.

**A Matter of Choice**

Francine was at her desk in the bullpen busily working on the information she'd gotten from Dr. Dunleavy's research when Lee approached her.

"Francine, I have to pull a disappearing act to satisfy Billy. I need you to do some things for me. Get the manifest from this Paris flight," he said as he hand her a slip of paper. "Cross-check it against the passport and customs declarations, ok?"

"No, Lee," Francine said already frazzled. "I just got back from Dr. Dunleavy and I've got a ton of paperwork to do." She shoved the paper back at him.

"Would you just please do it," Lee said as he shoved it back at her right as another agent was telling Francine that she had a call on the IFF line.

"No, I'm sorry, Lee. I can't," she said as she was handed another paper from the woman telling her about her phone call. "Thank you," she said as the woman walked away. She reached for the phone to pick up her call until she actually read what she'd just been handed. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the name on the paper. _Oh, God_, she thought. _What the hell am I going to say to him?_

"What is it?" She heard Lee ask, but her rattled mind didn't quite process it until she felt Lee taking the paper from her grasp. She looked up at him in panic. "Jonathan Stone?"

"It's been five years, Lee," she said quietly. _Five long years of not knowing, not knowing where he was, what he was doing, what she'd done wrong to make him bolt. Had she been too strong? Too demanding? Did she scare him off?_ She knew she could sometimes be intimidating to men, but she'd thought that Jonathan had really loved her, so why had he run? She took a deep breath as she blinked back the tears that had started to form in her eyes. She had decided long ago she would never let anyone at the agency see her weak like that.

Francine stared at the phone hesitantly just as Lee reached across her for it and said, "I'll tell him you quit. You don't owe him anything."

She glanced back at Lee with a pleading look in her eye and said firmly, "No, I owe him a piece of my mind." She spoke those words with more confidence than she actually felt, determined not to show any signs of weakness.

"I think you're making a mistake," Lee said warningly.

"I can handle it," she said calmly as she took a deep breath and finally decided to pick up the phone. "IFF, Francine Desmond..." Her heart fluttered at hearing his voice for the first time in five years and she struggled not to let it show. "...Let's just say I'm surprised to hear your voice..."She said coolly hoping her voice didn't betray her. _Crap_, she thought when she heard his response. "No, no, I'm not upset. It's more like shock." She covered the mouthpiece, looked up at Lee and said, "Lee, he wants me to meet him at Michel's"

"Tell him to crawl back under his rock," Lee said hotly his disheveled appearance making his gruffness seem even more so.

Francine turned back to the phone and said, "Yeah, sure. seven o'clock is fine...ok." She hung up the phone quickly before her tone of voice could give her feelings away.

"I don't believe it," Lee said giving her a look of incredulity. "Why didn't you tell him to go to hell?"

Before Francine could answer, Billy interrupted. "Scarecrow, I thought I told you to go home."

Lee sighed and said, "I'm going in a minute."

Francine stood and said, "I'll make sure he leaves, Sir." She linked her arm with his and shoved him toward the glass doors leading out of the bullpen.

"Well?"Lee said.

"I'm a big girl, Lee. I can handle it," Francine said. While she was touched by his concern she was also irritated that he seemed to think that she couldn't handle the situation.

"I know you're a big girl, Francine, but this guy broke your heart and here you are, just letting him waltz right back into your life like nothing ever happened." The elevator doors opened and she shoved at his back to push him in before stepping in behind him.

"I'm not letting him waltz right back in, but after five years I have questions that I deserve to have answers to."

"Why do you care? The guy's a lowlife."

Hearing the man she loved referred to as a lowlife cut Francine to the quick. She then did a double take within her own head, thinking about how she'd just referred to his as the man she loved. Did she still love him even after what he'd put her through? She tried to shake off that nagging thought. Of course, she didn't. How could she still love someone who'd betrayed her. "Some might say the same about you given your history," Francine pointed out as she began to get more annoyed with Lee.

"But you know better than anyone that that's not true anymore," Lee argued.

"Isn't it?" she said getting angrier. "You can tell yourself that you're different all you want, but the more I see of the way things are between you and Amanda, the more I think that this is just one more way for you to distance yourself, keep from making a real commitment."

"What the hell are you talking about? I married Amanda, didn't I? That's as real a commitment as it gets!"

"Stop kidding yourself, Lee. You said yourself last week that you and Amanda don't have a marriage in a real sense. You're more like secret lovers, just like you were before you got married." Francine said. "In fact, I'm starting to wonder why you married her at all if you didn't intend to take it all the way."

"I married her because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her," Lee said.

"Yeah, well. you're doing a great job of that when you can't even spend a whole weekend with her," She snapped.

"You know what I think this is? You're just jealous because your ex stood you up at the altar before you could ever _get _married and now you can't stand it that I'm happily married while you're not!" The elevator doors opened into the Georgetown foyer and he stomped out. _Happily married? _she thought. _Keep telling yourself that, Stetson. _She knew it wasn't true. She could tell over the past few weeks he'd been anything but happy. He may love Amanda, but she knew he wasn't happy that their marriage came behind everything else in their lives.

She sighed knowing that in a way Lee was right. Jonathan's phone call has stirred something in her she thought was long dead. She knew the harsh comments she'd made were more directed at the fact that Jonathon was the one who hadn't taken it all the way. He'd asked her to marry him and she'd eagerly said yes, but when the big day arrived, he was nowhere to be found. She sighed again. She'd have to swallow her pride and apologize to Lee later, but she still didn't feel that she was entirely wrong. The more she saw of his secret marriage to Amanda and what it was doing to both of them, the more she saw how wrong it was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine's thought were whirling while she listened to Jonathan talking about his business. She'd had every intention of pouring a drink on his head, giving him a piece of her mind and storming out. _God, why does he have to smile like that? _She felt herself blushing a little under her ex-fiancé's gaze, that smile conjuring memories of other times she'd seen that warm smile. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lee's voice behind her.

"Excuse me, Francine. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"She was startled to see him there after the argument they'd had at the office. She awkwardly introduced him to Jonathan.

"Nice to meet you," Jonathan said.

"You look familiar," Lee said, "Have we met? Francine glared icily at Lee wondering where the hell he was going with this.

"I don't think so. I have one of those faces. People always tell me I look like someone they know."

"Ah, yeah, well maybe I'm mistaken," Lee replied. By the look on his face, Francine could tell that he didn't really believe that. He was up to something. She just couldn't put her finger on what. "Do you mind if I borrow Francine for a minute?"Lee asked earning him another icy glare from Francine.

"No, not at all. I've got a phone call to make anyway."

When Jonathan had left and Lee sat down, Francine was no longer able to keep her composure. "So, what's the big emergency?"she said through gritted teeth.

"What emergency? I was on my way back to The Agency and just wanted to know if you'd finished the passport and custom checks," Lee said.

_Nice excuse_, she thought. "Is this really about work or are you just checking up on me?"

"Yeah, it's about work," Lee said unconvincingly.

"Mm-hmm," she said nodding in disbelief.

Lee glanced the direction Jonathan had gone and said, "So, that's Prince Charming, huh? How's it going?"

She rolled her eyes and glared at him again saying pointedly, "I haven't been alone with him long enough to find out. Something you ought to be very familiar with by now."

"I suppose that's a subtle hint that three's a crowd," Lee said.

Francine laughed awkwardly and said, "That and a not-so subtle hint that you should go home to your wife." When Lee scowled, she said, "Oh, that's right, silly me. You _can't_ go home to your wife, can you? You two don't have a home together."

She wanted to say more, but Jonathan returned before she could saying, "Is everything under control?"

"Oh, yes," Francine said in a more chipper tone than she actually felt. "Everything's fine. Lee just has to be going." They said uncomfortable good-byes and she turned her attention back to Jonathan her thoughts racing manically. How dare Lee judge her and her relationship when he wasn't taking action on his own?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine had just gotten off the phone with Dr. Dunleavy when Lee approached her desk with a printout. "I knew he looked familiar," He said showing her a computer-generated picture of Jonathan. "Your friend, Stone, was on the same flight from Paris with Kleiner."

"Oh, so that proves he was with Kleiner. You're really reaching," She said handing the printout back to him.

"Maybe, but I did some checking. He lied to you about his business. Did you know that? It's hanging on by a thread and three years ago, he did some civilian work for the CIA."

"Meaning what?" she said not liking what Lee was implying.

"Meaning there are a lot of coincidences here. Stone may very well be our link to Brody. Look, we are gonna have to sit down and take a look at all your projects and see what Brody-"

"You know what your problem is," She shouted as she rose from her desk cutting off his tangent. She'd had enough, first with him butting into her personal life and now accusing the man she loved of God knows what. "Your problem is that you're so hot to get Brody that you are seeing things that aren't there! My advice to you is to take care of your own business and keep your nose out of mine!" She stormed out of the bullpen, but she knew he wasn't far behind her.

Lee caught up to her just as she pushed the button for the elevator grabbing her arm. "Just what the hell was that crack supposed to mean?"he demanded.

"You know exactly what it means! Do you want me to announce it for everybody to hear?" she said looking around and the people walking up and down the corroder as she yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"You can't do that, Francine," Lee said his voice filled with panic.

"Well, somebody should! God knows you're too much of a chicken-shit to do it!" she said as she stepped into the elevator, Lee following right behind her.

"Francine, don't you dare! You promised you wouldn't."

She sighed and said, "And I won't, but I don't want to hear another word about how hard it is on you! You know what to do about it and you won't do it! What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing," Lee said feebly.

"That's a damn lie and we both know it! Look, just leave my personal life alone and start thinking about what you need to do to fix your own!" She'd never been so grateful to see the elevator doors open in her life as she hustled out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next afternoon after Francine had been told by Dr. McJohn that Lee had been right and Jonathan had drugged her, she hid in the upstairs ladies room down the hall from the Q-Bureau trying to gather her thoughts without prying eyes around. She knew this room wasn't used a lot because the majority of The Agency was underground so she'd taken refuge here. She hated to admit that Lee had been right. She felt like such a fool. She'd couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to be compromised by a man she'd once loved enough to want to spend the rest of her life with. She let the tears she'd been holding back all day finally fall. She was so lost in her misery, she hadn't heard the door open.

"Hello?" she heard Amanda's voice call. She hastily wiped the tears away as she exited the stall. "Hey, are you ok?"

"Yeah, fine," she said as she rushed to the sink to splash some water on her face in an attempt to make herself look somewhat presentable.

"Come on, Francine," Amanda said giving her that motherly look that said she knew better.

"Huh," was her response at first. She knew that Amanda wasn't a person she could easily hide things from. "So, I'm not ok. I don't know. I just feel so...stupid...do used."

"I understand," Amanda said.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't see how you can understand, Amanda. This didn't happen to you.," Francine said as she reached for some paper towels to fry herself off with only to find that Amanda already had some in her hand for her. "Thanks," she said with a slight smile.

"No, not this exact thing, but I do know how what's it's like to feel like the person you love is just using you," Amanda said.

"See? This is why you and Lee need to stop hiding and just get your marriage out in the open," Francine said. "I keep telling Lee that-"

"Francine, I'm not talking about Lee. I mean, don't get me wrong. It's a little difficult for us to live the way we do, but I was actually talking about my first marriage."

"But you were married to him for ten years," Francine said not quite understanding.

"Legally, maybe, but we only had a real marriage for maybe three of those years. He left to work for EAO when Jamie was only seven weeks old and we really only saw each other about twice a year after that for the next five. The last two years of our marriage, we were working out the details of our divorce, the house, the kids, all the legal stuff."

"Why did it take two years? That seems like an awfully long time for a divorce to go through."

"He was out of the country for most of that time, just like he had been for most of our marriage. I got to the point that I felt like I wasn't really his wife, just a stopover on his travels. I couldn't live like that anymore, being married, but not being together."

"Hence, the feeling used," Francine said. "But I don't get it. Isn't that the same thing you have with Lee now? You're married, but not together,"

"No, this is different because Lee makes every effort to spend as much time as he can with me and with the boys. When Billy told him to go home and get some rest the other day, he came to the house instead."

"You know, if the two of you were living out in the open, he could've done both Francine hinted.

"I know," Amanda said with a sigh. "That's something that Lee and I are going to have to seriously talk about. Listen, Francine, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Got a time machine I can jump is so I don't feel like such an idiot?"

"You're not an idiot for believing in love, Francine."

"Love, huh? Is that what this is?"she scoffed. Maybe on her end, but Jonathan on the other hand was a different story. She shook off those nagging thoughts. She couldn't let herself get bogged down in this again or she'd start crying again and never stop. "Thanks for the pep talk, but I have to get going if I'm going to make my date with Jonathan in order to get to the bottom of this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After wrapping up the case and realizing that Jonathan hadn't betrayed her after all, she felt the need to say thank you to her friends for their support. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but here she was tiptoeing into Amanda's backyard. She saw a light on in the kitchen but didn't see anything through the back door so she crept around to the side of the house and peered cautiously into the kitchen window. Her mouth dropped open and she couldn't believe what she saw. There was Amanda holding up a pair of boxer shorts with a grin big as life while Lee just looked embarrassed. She was obviously once again interrupting something. She tapped lightly on the kitchen window then ducked back around to the back door.

"What on earth?"Amanda said as she stepped out the back door, one hand behind her back with Lee right behind her with a coffee cup in his hand.

"It's me," Francine said

"I was wondering who'd be tapping on my kitchen window since Lee was already here," Amanda said.

"Hey, I haven't done that in months. Not since you started letting me in the front door," Lee said with a smile.

"I just came by to say thanks for being supportive, to both of you. I called Lee's place earlier and when he wasn't there, I figured..."

"You figured right," Lee said as he slid his free hand around his wife's waist. "I guess I need to take these home," he said as he pulled his boxers from the hand she had behind her back. "Keep your mom from asking too many questions."

"Oh, it's too late for that," Amanda said with a grin. "She's the one who found them in my laundry." Amanda snatched them back from him.

"Hey, give me those," Lee said.

"Uh-uh. I think I'm going to start a collection. The way things are going, you'll eventually _have_ to spend more time over here just to have clothes to wear," she teased.

"Well, if your mom's the one who found them, I guess that explains why she cornered me after dinner tonight and wanted to know what my intentions with you are."

"Ok, I don't get this," Francine said. "If the whole reason you were keeping your marriage secret is to protect the family, aren't you taking a risk by spending so much time over here?"

"She does make a good point, Lee," Amanda said. "Anyone watching you would see that you spend more time here than you do at your own place."

"Yeah, we're gonna' have to figure something out," Lee said with a sigh.

"Speaking of figuring things out, how's it going with the big vacation plan?" Amanda asked Francine.

"Great! I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping it will give us a chance to really reconnect," Francine said with a smile.

"Well, just don't do anything that I wouldn't do," Lee said with a wink.

"Considering that there's not much you wouldn't do, that leaves me wide open," Francine said winking back. "See you in two weeks." She left the house happier than she'd been in a long time, not only for herself, but for her friends as it was clear to her that they were on the verge of setting things right.


	10. The Khrushchev List

Author's Note: Just wanted to provide a little info on the timing of this chapter since none of the scenes in this reference specific scenes from the episode. Instead they are filler scenes. The first scene is intended to take place right after the first scene in Billy's office in which Francine had explained that Christina Golitsyn was killed 27 years before. The second fits right after the last scene in Billy's office when Amanda hung up on Lee and the final scenes in Billy's office and the Q-Bureau are intended to take place the day after Lee gave Amanda the list of all the things he loved about her, so technically, the end of the series. While this is the final episode of the series, I have one more chapter planned to tie everything up, then this story will be complete.

Author's Note 2: I don't know what happened when I uploaded this earlier, but it uploaded a rough draft, not the completed chapter and my completed chapter somehow disappeared from my PC.

**The Khrushchev List**

Francine walked into the Q-Bureau slightly panicked at what she'd seen in the report she had in her hands. When she walked in, she was surprised for once to find Lee and Amanda actually working, Amanda typing furiously at the computer while Lee looked over her shoulder. Although, she couldn't help but notice that Lee wasn't leaning in as close as normal. Usually when she'd find them like this, even if they were actually working, he'd be as close to Amanda as he could get, his hand on her shoulder or her back. This time though, there seemed to be some tension between the two of them.

She watched as Lee reached over Amanda's shoulder. "Here, try this," he said as he hit a few keystrokes.

Amanda slapped his hand away from the keyboard and said irritably, "Lee, I've got this. I'm the one that's better with the computer, remember?"

"Sor-ry," he said raising his hands in surrender and backing away. _Yep, definitely tension between them, _she thought. "I guess that's just one more of those little things about me that bugs you, huh?" Amanda toward him long enough to give him a scathing look the turned back to the computer.

"What are you guys up to?" she asked awkwardly. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on between them. They weren't usually like this with each other.

"Just trying to run down some more background on this Christina Golitsyn, trying to find out where the reports came from that she was killed. She was with Harry the other day and that's how he introduced her to me," Lee said with a scowl aimed at the back of his wife's head.

"What have you got," Amanda asked indicating the folder in Francine's hand.

"Nothing to do with that," Francine said as she handed the folder across the desk to Lee. "This is the report on the bug sweep at your place, Lee. If you consider the way your personal life is, it's not good."

"What do you mean?" He asked unnerved by the concerned look on her face. As he perused the file, he sighed. "Never mind. I get what you mean."

"What is it?" Amanda asked pausing in her computer search and looking up.

"Apparently whoever's listening in on me didn't bug just my phone," he said with a grimace. "Look at this." He handed the file to his wife.

"Oh, they bugged the lamp in your bedroom," Amanda said with a frown. "And I've been at your place all weekend and we've been..." she broke off blushing slightly.

"Yeah," Lee said uncomfortably. "There was one in the dining room lighting fixture too. And we just had a conversation there this morning about being Mr. and Mrs. Stetson."

"That's why I brought this to your attention," Francine said worriedly. "If the tech guys are able to track where the signal on these is coming from your secret may be out whether you want it to be or not. You know nothing stays hidden in this place for long when it comes to people's personal lives. Even if they're not able to find the source, let's say if during the course of this investigation, we nab the guys doing it, you know The Agency's going to want to go through every bit of surveillance they've collected on you to make sure that you haven't been compromised."

"The problem I have is that we've both been _compromised_ this weekend," Amanda said she said with a look at her husband. "Several times and somebody out there has every detail on tape."

"Amanda," Lee said in frustration.

"Ok, now I'm wishing I'd used different wording," Francine said uncomfortably.

"Well, it's a fact, Lee," Amanda said disregarding Francine's comment. "The whole reason that I was spending the weekend at the apartment was so that we could have some private time together which is now not so private."

"Well, I'm going to do everything I can to figure out where the bugs came from before it can be broadcast around the agency," Francine said. "But like I said in Billy's office, it's a long damn list. I really think it's time for you two to start seriously thinking about a plan of attack if the truth comes out."

"Yeah," Lee said shaking his head in frustration. This was just one more thing to put more strain on their already strained marriage.

"Or better yet, you could just tell the truth before it gets to that point, then if these tapes surface, it won't be such a shock."

"I don't know. If people around here knew some of the things that I know about Amanda, they might still be shocked," Lee said with a grin at his wife trying to lighten the mood.

His wisecrack had just the opposite effect. "Oh?"Amanda said indignantly. "Well, that's funny. I've never heard you complain before," she snapped before turning her attention back to the computer.

"I'm not complaining now," Lee said. "I actually like that I'm the only one who knows what you've got going on underneath that buttoned-up exterior."

"Don't try to butter me up," Amanda said coolly.

"Listen, I just came up here to let you know what was I found out and give you a head's up. I...uh...I should get going," Francine stammered awkwardly. She hastily exited the room breathing a sigh of relief that she was able to get out of there as it was obvious they were in the middle of a vast lover's tiff.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Francine entered Billy's office the next day just as Lee was leaving looking agitated.

"What's up with him?" she said looking backward through the window watching Lee moving hastily through the bullpen.

"I get the sense he and Amanda had a fight," Billy said.

"Ah," She said knowing all too well that they had. She'd witnessed a bit of the aftermath of if yesterday. "So, I was wanting to check on the outcome of that phony list we put out."

"Oh, it's all right here," Billy said handing her a folder. "I actually meant to give this to Lee when he was in here, but got sidetracked because he was a little upset about this thing with Amanda, whatever it is. Would you mind running it up to the Q-Bureau for me?"

"No, not at all. I needed to talk to Lee anyway," she said taking the folder from him.

"Thanks, Francine," Billy said. _No, thank you, _she thought as she left his office. This would give her a legitimate reason to go up there so she could pick Lee's brain a little and find out just what the hell was going on with him and Amanda. She entered the Q-Bureau a few minutes later to hear Lee on the phone.

"Amanda, come on, can't we just talk about this like rational adults?...No, I'm not accusing you of being irrational. You're blowing this whole thing way out of proportion...Amanda?" He slammed the phone down. "Damn it!" he said as he kicked at the wastebasket by Amanda's desk.

"Trouble?"Francine inquired.

"She hung up on me...again. That's twice in twenty minutes!"

"Wow, she must be _really_ pissed," Francine said.

"You could say that," Lee said. "Not that I don't deserve it. I did something incredibly stupid."

Francine looked at him in alarm. "Oh, Lee, please tell me you haven't started getting restless already." She'd been concerned from the start that he wasn't the type for settling down with just one woman, though she really did believe that he loved Amanda.

"What? No, Francine! Why is that the first thing your mind always jumps to? I have honored my vow to be faithful to Amanda and I have intention of staying faithful to her. It's nothing like that! Not even close."

"Ok, sorry. Old habits," she said apologetically. "Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No, Francine, I think the only thing that'll help if for me to do some heavy-duty groveling and beg for forgiveness." Francine couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, I'm glad you find this so damn amusing," he said.

"I couldn't help it," she said still chuckling. "It's just thinking about how much you've changed. Five years ago, you'd have never groveled or begged a woman for forgiveness. You'd have just told her to get bent and if she didn't like you the way you were, it'd be 'seeya' round, Kiddo.' You must really have it bad for her."

"Do you think I'd have married her if I didn't," He countered.

"No," Francine said. "I've known you a long time and I always knew if any woman was ever able to lasso you once and for all, she'd have to be someone pretty damn special."

"She is," Lee said. "There are so many things that I love about her, I don't even think I could list them all."

"Maybe you should try telling her that. Might help with the groveling," she said with a smile.

"Hmmm," Lee said. "You know that's not a bad idea."

"Oh, before I forget," Francine said. "Billy wanted me to bring this up to you to add to your report and you'll be happy to know that I was the one to find the surveillance tapes so you don't have to worry about your secret being exposed."

"Ok, Thanks. You didn't...uh...listen to them, did you?"

"No, but I'm going to have to. The Agency knows they exist, so somebody has to." Lee made a face. "Would you rather have the AV guys listen to them?"

"I'd rather not have anyone listen to them," Lee said.

"I can't help you there. I got Billy to let me do it without having to transcribe them to keep your secret safe, but that's the best I could do. I'm going to stay tonight to work on it so no one else will be involved."

"I appreciate the effort."

Francine started to head to the door but then paused for the moment, "Lee?"

"Yeah," he said absently as he started rooting through his desk drawers until he found a blank legal pad.

"Good luck with the begging," she quipped as she exited and quickly shut the door behind her. Before she made her way down the hall, she heard the "thunk" of something hitting the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Due to working late the night before, Francine didn't make it into work the next day until almost noon. She had wanted to get there earlier so she could talk to Lee and Amanda and see if they'd made up from their fight, but she'd overslept after spending half the night listening to those tapes. She definitely understood what Lee had meant when he said people would be shocked by knowing some of the things he knows about Amanda. While she'd tried to skip through as much of the personal stuff as she could so as not to invade their privacy anymore, there were some things she couldn't help hearing. As she walked through the bullpen toward Billy's office, she heard a flurry of whispers.

"I can't believe _she_ was the one to finally tame Scarecrow," One person said.

"Well, did you see the diamond ring she's wearing. It doesn't look cheap," somebody else said.

Another said, "The girls in the steno pool are sure going to be so disappointed that he's officially off the market."

"Well, knowing Lee, I don't believe he'll be off the market for long," another agent said.

Francine wondered what was going on. She knew she was the only one who had copies of the surveillance tapes. Had they been found out another way? She entered Billy's office to find Lee and Amanda sitting there both with huge smiles on their faces and Billy grinning from ear to ear.

"Nice of you to join us, Francine," Billy teased. "Have you heard the news?"

"News?"Francine asked innocently.

"Yeah, it seems that these two are not only good at keeping our country's secrets, but their own as well. They got married."

"Married? Lee? Really?" Francine said leaning against Billy's desk to face them with her back to Billy. "I don't believe it," She winked at them with a smile to let them know that she wouldn't let on that she'd known the whole time if they didn't want her to.

"Well, believe it, Francine," Lee said as he held up his left hand on which he now openly wore his wedding band. "I'm a happily married man. Thanks for the advice yesterday, by the way."

"Advice?"Amanda said looking at him with a curious raised eyebrow.

"Francine gave you advice?" Billy said with a bemused expression. "What about the advice I gave you?"

"That kind of thinking is what got me in the doghouse to begin with, Billy."

"You're not completely out of the doghouse yet," Amanda said.

"You sure could have fooled me yesterday afternoon," He said with a devilish grin.

"Oh, you're out of the doghouse with me, but now you've got my mother to deal with," She said. "And she's much scarier than I am."

"So, you haven't told the family yet?"Francine asked. She had only met Amanda's mother once but she could tell that she was a woman that you didn't want to mess with when it came to her only daughter.

"No, we did," Amanda said. "Last night when they got back into town from their trip to the mountains."

"Was your mom shocked by the news?" Francine asked. She knew she was when she'd first found out that they were engaged.

"Surprisingly, no," Lee said. "Her response was to ask us what took her so long to tell her the truth."

"You're kidding?" Billy said.

"No," Amanda said. "Apparently, she figured it out on her own before we ever left California. I was shocked that she kept it to herself all this time."

"She even told us that she had planned this weekend's trip with the boys so that we could have the time together since we didn't get a real honeymoon," Lee said.

"So, she wasn't upset?"Billy asked.

"Oh, she was," Amanda said. "She still is, but not really about our marriage. She didn't give us any choice but to tell her why we kept it a secret."

"Yeah," Lee said. "It's funny. I think she's madder about hiding what we really do for a living than she is about us hiding our marriage."

"Well, she's already figured out a way that we can make it up to her," Amanda said.

"Oh?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, she told me about it this morning. I'll fill you in later."

"How'd the kids take it?"Francine asked.

"Pretty well, all things considered," Amanda said. "Phillip adores Lee and he's been wanting us to get married for a while now anyway."

"Jamie's gonna' be a little bit of a challenge though," Lee said.

"Was he mad?"Francine asked.

"Not mad, per se, more like confused. He's been a little...weird around me anyway."

"He's fine, Lee. He told me this morning that if I'm happy, he's happy. He just doesn't adapt to change well. You'll gonna' have to give him a little time. With both his parents remarried now, it's a big adjustment for him. Mother had an idea to help with that goes hand in hand with her other idea, though."

"I'm intrigued. You gonna' tell me what it is?" Lee said. When Amanda was silent, he said, "Come on, don't hold out on me."

"We'll talk about it later at the house," Amanda said.

"At the house?"

"Oh, yes, your presence is expected at dinner tonight."

"By the way, Francine," Billy said. "Did you finish with those surveillance tapes from Lee's apartment?"

"Yeah, there was nothing of any interest on them," she said.

"So, Lee wasn't compromised in any way?"

Francine had to stifle a laugh before answering very glad she was facing away from her boss. "No, sir," she said with a wink at Lee and Amanda. "I should get working on the official report on that for you," she said to Billy before turning back to Lee and saying, "Good luck with your family dinner."

"Well, I don't have a problem with that as long as I'm still there for dessert." Lee said as he winked at his wife.


	11. Epilogue

Author's Note: This is it. The conclusion. I hope you all like it. I want to thank everyone who has been reading this for all of the support and for the amazing reviews.

**Epilogue**

It had been a month since the revelation to everyone that the infamous Scarecrow had finally made a permanent commitment to his partner. If anyone would have told Francine four years ago when Amanda King had first accidentally stumbled into the intelligence community that she, Francine Desmond, would be here, now doing what she was doing, she'd have told them to have their heads examined.

She stood in front of the full length mirror in Amanda's bedroom and gazed appreciatively at the off-the-shoulder, knee-length emerald green dress Amanda had chosen. She really didn't have bad taste. She glanced over at Amanda who was sitting her vanity in the midst of having her hair fussed over by her mother.

"Mother, stop," Amanda said. "My hair's fine. It's just going to get messed up anyway."

"Well, you can hardly blame me," Dotty said. "It's not every day my little girl gets married."

"Except you're forgetting one thing. Lee and I are _already_ married," Amanda pointed out. "He's been living here for the last month, remember?"

"I'm well aware of that, Amanda. My room is right next to yours, after all, and these walls are _very_ thin," Dotty said with a mischievous grin.

"Mother, really," Amanda said blushing slightly.

"Not that I can blame you, mind you. Lee is a _very_ attractive man. Makes me wish I was thirty years younger," Dotty teased.

"You oughtta see some of the trouble they get into at work," Francine said as she stepped away from the mirror. "I can't count the number of times I've walked into their office to find them...ahem...not working."

"No need to go telling on us, Francine. Speaking of which, Mother, I have half a mind to tell Curt on you for making eyes at my husband," Amanda teased back.

"Oh, I'm not making eyes at your husband. I was just teasing. Besides, he'd never notice even if I did. It's very clear that man only has eyes for you, which is why this is so important. The two of you should be able to really celebrate your marriage."

"We can do that just fine without going through all of this," Amanda said as she stood indicating the white dress she was wearing. "I'm only doing this because you insisted on it."

"You can't tell me that Lee didn't want this too. He's been high as a kite ever since we started planning this. I think he regrets not having a real wedding. You may have been married before but he hasn't. He should be able to have that."

"Your mom's kind of got a point. I've known Lee for twelve years and it's not very often that die-hard bachelors like him decide to settle down. You _should_ celebrate this. It's nothing short of miraculous that you were able to snag the most un-snaggable bachelor on the planet," Francine said as she picked up the gauzy white veil from Amanda's bed. "You look like you're ready for this."

"Yeah," she said. Dotty and Francine together helped Amanda put on her veil and pin it in place. "Francine, what's this?" Amanda asked as she reached for her left hand and fingered the diamond ring there.

"Oh, what this old thing?" Francine said with a bright smile. When Amanda just looked at her in exasperation. "Jonathan gave it to me last night. I wasn't going to say anything yet because I didn't want to steal your thunder on your big day."

"You're not stealing anything. My big day was actually over four months ago," Amanda said with a glance at her mother before turning back to Francine. She hugged her tightly and said, "Congratulations! I'm very happy for you. You just better set a date soon and make sure he doesn't stand you up again."

"Already working on it," Francine said still smiling.

"Good," Amanda said as she stood and walked to the mirror to appraise her appearance. "So, do I look ok?"

"You look absolutely beautiful," Dotty said with happy tears in her eyes as she hugged her daughter.

"Oh, Mother," Amanda said. "Don't cry."

Sensing that some mother-daughter time was needed, Francine said, "I should go see how your groom is fairing." She made her way out of the room and down the hall to Phillip and Jamie's room where the guys were getting dressed. She knocked lightly and when she didn't hear anything, she cautiously opened the door. "Everybody decent?"

"Come on in, Francine," she heard Billy's booming voice reply.

She entered the room fully to see Lee and Billy finishing getting dressed while Lee helped Jamie with his tie.

"There you go, Sport," Lee said with a smile to his younger stepson.

"Thanks, Lee," Jamie said with a smile. "And thanks for making Mom so happy."

"She makes me pretty happy too." Francine watched the interaction and smiled at how easily Lee seemed to have adapted to family life.

"I'm gonna' miss you guys while you're gone," Jamie said.

"No, you won't. You're on summer vacation now and you're gonna' have such a great time with your dad, you won't even have time to notice we're gone. Before you know it, the week will be over and we'll be back."

"A week?"Francine questioned. "I thought you were finally cashing in that two weeks Dr. Smyth promised you after that whole Dubinsky thing. Especially since he was nice enough to let Amanda take the time off with you."

"We are, but we're only taking a week for a second honeymoon. The second week, we're taking a family vacation."

"Are you really going to take us to Disney World?"Phillip asked.

"We sure are, Chief," he said. "The plans are all made. A week from now, we'll all be in Florida."

"That is so cool!" Francine couldn't help but laugh at his exuberance.

"Hey, guys, I think your mom and your grandma are just about ready," Francine said to the boys.

"Why don't you guys head on down the hall and I'll see you out there," Lee said as he reached for the jacket of his tux and pulled it on.

"Now, you've got your tie all crooked," Francine said as she stepped in to straighten it for him.

"Thanks, Francine," he said.

"Can't have you looking all lopsided on your big day," she said with a smile.

"Speaking of big days, when did this happen?" he said with a nod to the diamond ring on her left hand.

"Last night," she said with a grin. "We were talking about him being my date to your wedding and then he said he wanted to start talking about having one of our own."

"You just better drag his ass to the altar fast before he has a chance to get cold feet again," Lee teased.

"Hey!" she said slapping playfully at him.

"He makes a good point, Francine," Billy said with a chuckle.

"You know Amanda said just about the same thing," Francine said.

"All I can say is that he'd better make you happy or I'm gonna' have to kick his ass," Lee said.

"I could say the same about you and Amanda," Francine said.

"No need to worry about kicking Amanda's ass. She already makes me happier that I can put into words."

"Who said anything about kicking Amanda's ass? You'd better take damn good care of her or you're going to have me to deal with."

"I think you better look out, Scarecrow," Billy said with a bemused expression. "Francine seems to have really taken to her maid of honor duties."

"I still sometimes wonder why she asked me," Francine said as she thought back to the last four years and how they'd started out sniping at each other, but had come to form something of a friendship even if it was a bit awkward at times.

"Francine, I think you know why," Lee said.

"Yeah," She said. They had all agreed that it would be best for everyone concerned if no one be let in on the fact that Francine had known about their marriage all along. Amanda had floored her when she'd asked her to be her maid of honor as she and Lee renewed their vows in front of their family and friends. "I'm just hoping she'll be willing to return the favor later this summer."

"I'm sure she will if you ask her," Billy said then glanced at his watch. "Well, Scarecrow, it's just about that time. We should get down there."

"And I should get back to Amanda," Francine said before slugging Lee playfully on the arm. "Seeya' down there."

Francine made her way back down the hall to the room Lee and Amanda now shared to find Amanda was alone. "Hey, are you just about ready?"

"Yeah," Amanda said fidgeting with the bodice of her dress.

"You ok?" Francine asked worriedly.

"Just a little nervous about this dress," Amanda said as she pulled at the top of it.

"What are you worried about? You look amazing and Magda did a fabulous job on your dress." She looked at the dress Amanda was so worried about and couldn't see a thing wrong. The satin off-the-shoulder bodice and natural waist with flowing skirt perfectly suited Amanda's figure and showed off her curves in all the right places.

"Yes, she did and the dress is beautiful, but I think maybe I should have gone with something with a higher neckline," she said still fidgeting nervously.

"Amanda, stop," Francine said as she forcibly turned Amanda around to face her grabbing her hands. "I get what you're worried about and trust me, you can't see it."

"Are you sure?"Amanda asked worry evident in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. See for yourself," she said as she turned Amanda back around to face the mirror. "Look. No scar. You told Magda you wanted to make sure that the scar from your shooting wouldn't show and she did a perfect job of designing a dress just for you that would make sure of it. Trust me, I know a little something about fashion. While we're on the subject, I want to thank you for not making me wear something hideous."

Amanda laughed and said, "Well, I wanted you to have something that would be flattering to you, too and something you could wear again, not just a useless dress that would hang in your closet forever and never see the light of day again. Not like this one. A wedding dress is pretty much something that you only wear one time and then you put it away."

"Not necessarily," Francine said. "Maybe you and Lee will have a daughter someday that you can pass it on to." Amanda turned to face her with a surprised look on her face. "Don't tell me you never thought about it. You and Lee having kids together, I mean."

"Oh, I've thought about it. I think about every time that we...make love, but we've never actually talked about it. Not in any kind of real way, just in a what-if kind of way."

"Well, maybe you should, now that you're going to have a second chance at a honeymoon. What better time to start? I mean, it's not like either of you are getting any younger," she teased.

"Yeah, maybe we should," Amanda said squeezing Francine's hand. "Thank you so much, Francine...for everything."

"I fully expect to be repaid when I get married," she teased not quite sure how to ask Amanda what she really wanted to ask.

"Sure, whatever you need," Amanda said sincerely.

"What I need is someone to help me plan, help me decide on a dress, a location, flowers, caterers, photographer..." she hesitated. _God, why is it so hard to spit out the words? Just do it, Desmond, _she scolded herself."What I need is a maid of honor, or I guess since you're married, it would be matron of honor."

"I'd be honored, Francine," Amanda said with a smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We can talk about it more when Lee and I get back."

"Well, we should get you down there so we can get you on your way then," Francine said. She poked her head out the door and glanced down the hall to find that the boys' room was now empty. "Ok, let's go."

They stepped out into the hall together and made their way down the stairs and were met by Phillip and Jamie who had just returned from walking their grandmother down the aisle and helping her to her seat.

"You ready, Mom?" Phillip said.

"I guess I'm next," Francine said as she picked up Amanda's bouquet from the kitchen counter and handed it to her before grabbing the smaller one for herself.

"We'll be right behind you," Amanda said as Francine stepped out the back door.

She took a deep breath before plunging on, making her slow march down the runner laid out in the backyard toward the gazebo where Lee was waiting for his bride. She took her place opposite Billy as the familiar bridal march started and the seated guests stood. She couldn't help but tear up as she watched Amanda walking toward them flanked by one son on each side. She glanced at Lee who had the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face before turning back to watch Amanda proceed down the makeshift aisle until she reached her groom.

The minister began his "dearly beloved" bit and when he asked who gave her to be married, both boys beamed with pride and said, "We do," in unison before releasing their mother, each placing a kiss on her cheek and then joining their grandmother. She had to admit that Dotty had had a really good idea in suggesting that the boys together walk their mother down the aisle to give her away. In a way, it was like they were giving her their blessing to bring Lee into their family. It was a beautiful moment.

She watched in silence as Lee and Amanda said their vows and exchanged rings for the second time. When the minister told Lee to kiss his bride. She found herself tearing up again as this wasn't like the fiery, passionate kisses she'd walked in on numerous times. This was a kiss of pure love, tenderness and hope for the future.

When their kiss ended and the minister introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, she couldn't help cheering along with the rest of their guests. In fact, she felt like she was cheering louder than anyone. As she watched them walk back down the aisle together, she caught the eye of her fiancé' and gave him a look to let him know that would soon be them. Billy linked his arm with hers so they could make their own journey back down the aisle, her eyes never leaving Jonathan's, her smile never fading.

Once the ceremony was done, she found herself back up at the gazebo to have wedding party pictures taken. When they were done with her and the photographer had wanted to snap shots of just the bride and groom, she stepped down, then turned to watch the two of them. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" Jonathan murmured in her ear.

"You may have mentioned it, but a girl can never hear it too many times," she replied as she turned just enough to kiss him softly. "I hope you realize we're going to be doing this very, _very_ soon. I'm not letting you get away again."

"Good," he said with a smile. "I see how happy they are and that's what I want for us."

"Glad to hear it," she said. While she'd never admit it to anyone, she'd worried that asking him to be her date for the wedding would cause him to panic and send him running again. She was thrilled that he seemed more committed than ever to do things right this time.

The photographer had paused in his picture taking and stepped aside for a moment as if contemplating what he wanted to do next. Lee looked at her and Jonathan together with an arched eyebrow. She smiled at him to let him know everything was ok just as the photographer said, "Ok, I'd like to get the bride alone."

"So would I," Lee quipped setting the watching crowd laughing and earning him a playful smack on the arm from his wife. He kissed Amanda soundly before stepping down from the gazebo and giving his bride a wink. Francine couldn't help smiling at the happiness her friends had found and hope for just as much happiness for herself.

Just as Francine thought this, out of nowhere Amanda's bouquet came sailing through the air at her landing right in her hands. She looked down at it, wondering what had possessed her to do that when the bouquet toss usually came at the end of the reception. Of course, Lee and Amanda hadn't done anything by normal traditional standards anyway so she guessed it shouldn't really surprise her. She looked up at Amanda with a smile and found her smiling back. Amanda nodded her head at her and Jonathan just before giving her a wink.


End file.
